LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

PRINCETON,  N.  J. 

Presented  by 

line  Widow  o-T  GreorqcDuioan,  '^=^4. 


BX  9178  .B87 

Burrell,  David  James,  1844 

1926. 
The  church  in  the  fort 


6 


a 


The  Church  in  the  Fort 


■"x:- 


•'  \^ 


The 


'923 


Church  in  the  Fort 


And  Other  Sermons 


By 


David   James   Burrell,   D.D 

Pastor  of  the  Marble  Collegiate  Church,  New  York 


New  York  Chicago  Toronto 

FLEMING   H.   REVELL   COMPANY 

Publishers  of  Evangelical  Literature 


c 


Copyright  1 90 1 

by 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 

(August) 


THE  CAXTON  PRESS 
NEW  YORK. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The  Church  in  the  Fort      -----  3 

The  Old  Book  and  the  New  Century       -        -  20 

The  Truth-Seeker          ______  33 

Standards  of  Measurement          -        -        -        -  51 

Business    -___--__-  63 

Good  Works    - --72 

At  the  Brink  of  the  Waters      -        -        -        -  82 

On  Choosing  a  Friend           _____  95 

The  Sun  on  Gibeon        ______  104 

The  People  of  That  Way     -        -        -        -        -115 

Has  the  Quality  of  Christianity  Deterior- 
ated IN  Recent  Times?           _        >        _        _  126 
Ten  Good  Men  in  Sodom       _____  138 

A  Man's  a  Man -        -150 

Light  or  Darkness;  a   Question   of  Stand- 
points          -  160 

The  Joy  of  the  Lord     --_---  170 

The  Waste  of  Power     ____--  i8i 

In  the  Upper  Room        ______  191 

Birds  of  Passage 201 

A  Working  Theory        -        -        -        -        -        -  210 

The  Roll  Call  of  the  Mighties         _       _       -  222 


Vl  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Left  Out  of  the  Parable    -----  232 

The  Man  of  Bethphage         -----  244 

Paul's  Goods  and  Chattels         -        _        -        -  254 

Religion  by  Inheritance       -----  264 

A  Man  at  His  Best 276 

The  Inimitable  Christ 287 

Common  Sense  in  Religion  -----  297 

This  Is  the  Victory       ------  306 


*THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  FORT 

"  Then  did  he  build  Millo."— i  Kings  g,  24. 

"  A  city  that  is  set  on  a  hill  cannot  be  hid."— Matt,  s,  14- 

The  "  Millo  "  here  referred  to  was  the  fortress  on 
the  heights  orjebus.  It  was  wholly  impregnable  on 
three  sides,  and  on  the  fourth  easily  defensible.  In 
the  conquest  of  Palestine  it  was  only  partially  reduced : 
as  it  is  written,  The  Jebusites,  the  inhabitants  of 
Jerusalem,  could  not  be  driven  out  (Josh.  15,  63). 
They  were  perforce  allowed  to  remain  to  be  a  thorn 
in  the  side  of  Israel  for  four  hundred  years.  At 
length  in  the  time  of  David  the  stronghold  was  taken 
by  stratagem  and  completely  destroyed.  The  thresh- 
ing floor  of  Araunah,  near  by,  was  purchased  as  a 
temple  site  (2  Sam.  24,  18-25);  ^^^  i"  due  time  the 
house  arose,  "beautiful  for  situation,  the  joy  of  the 
whole  earth."  This  was  the  original  "  Church  in  the 
J'ort." 

It  was  a  thousand  years  afterwards  that  Jesus, 
preaching  on  the  shores  of  Gennesareth,  made  men- 
tion of  the  "city  set  on  a  hill"  whose  light  could 
not  be  hid.  It  may  be  that  he  referred  to  Safed, 
twelve  miles  to  the  north;  or  to  Tabor,  on  the  south- 
west crowned  with  its  castle:  but  the  probability  is 
that  he  was  thinking  of  Jerusalem  to  which  the  heart 
of  Israel  ever  turned.  It  was  preeminently  '^a  city 
set  on  a  hill";  and  its -light  was  that  of- the -mys- 
terious   Shekinah,  shining  to  the  glory  of  God. 

*  This  sermon  was  preached  on  the  tenth  Anniversary  of  Dr.  Eurrell's 
Pastorate  in  the  Collegiate  Church. 

(3) 


4  THE   CHURCH   IN    THE   FORT. 

J    -  It  is  afar  cry  from  the  heights  of  Jebus  to  the 

Island  of  Manhattan,  covering  a  lapse  of  three  thou- 
sand  years;  but  I  call  your  attention  particularly  to 
that  later  "  Church  in  the  Fort "  which  is  perpetu- 
ated in  our  own  Collegiate  Church  of  New  York. 

The   year    1609   is    ever    memorable    in    history. 
Thirty-seven  years  before,  William    of    Orange  had 
led  the  Netherlands  in  their  revolt  against  Spain,  in 
L    which  the  mighty  principles  of  the  Reformation  were 
i|jc  ^"  at  stake.     It  is  estimated  by  the  learned  Grotius  that 

'i ^A  ,  3  in  that  notable  conflict  not  less  than  a  hundred  thou- 

/  '4'^<-  sand  Dutchmen  laid  down  their  lives  for  the  truth's 
sake.  At  length  Philip  III  of  Spain,  worn  out  by  the 
protracted  drain  on  his  resources,  was  constrained  to 
propose  an  armistice.  The  armies  of  Holland  were 
disbanded  and  her  fleets  called  home.  New  avenues 
of  investment  must  be  found  for  the  energies  thus 
suddenly  released.  Rumors  were  current  of  an 
Eldorado,  in  the  West;  of  a  short  passage  to  the 
Indies.  So  it  happened  that,  in  that  memorable 
year  of  the  armistice,  the  "Half  Moon,"  Hendrick 
Hudson  skipper,  manned  by  adventurous  souls  who 
had  distinguished  themselves  on  the  high  places  of 
the  field,  set  forth  upon  her  adventurous  voyage. 
Forth  she  sailed,  past  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  out 
upon  the  Western  Sea.  In  due  time  she  touched  at 
Newfoundland,  felt  her  way  southward  to  Sandy 
Hook  and  entered  the  mouth  of  the  North  River.  A 
month  later  to  a  day  she  sailed  back  to  Holland  and 
reported,  not  the  open  passage  which  had  been  looked 
for,  but  a  great  river  running  through  a  land  of 
unspeakable  beauty  and  fertility,  navigable  for  a 
hundred    and    fifty  miles   and   **  frequented    by    fur- 


THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    FORT.  5 

bearing  animals  and  native  red  men."  The  thrifty 
spirit  of  the  Dutch  merchants  was  moved  by  that 
reference  to  fertile  lands  and  fur-bearing  animals; 
and  the  Churches  were  stimulated  by  the  hope  of 
evangelizing  those  naked  red  men.  Thus  expeditions 
followed  one  another  in  quick  succession;  and  trad- 
ing posts  were  established  along  the  Hudson  at 
intervals  all  the  way  from  Manhattan  to  Albany. 

In  1621 — another  red-letter  year — was  organized 
in  the  Netherlands  the  West  India  Company,  which 
was  destined  to  play  an  important  part  in  the  settle- 
ment of  the  New  World.  In  its  charter,  as  framed 
by  the  States  General,  it  was  stipulated  that  emi- 
grants going  forth  under  its  authority  must,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  savage  tribes  as  well  as  their  own 
spiritual  protection  and  edification,  take  with  them  a 
suitable  number  of  deacons  or  zieken-troosters,  to  teach 
the  young,  visit  the  sick  and  conduct  divine  services, 
pending  the  arrival  of  ordained  clergymen.  One  of 
the  vessels  that  sailed  under  this  Charter  was  the 
**Sea  Mew,"  taking  with  her  three  men  who  were 
destined  to  play  an  important  part  in  the  making  of 
our  country.  One  of  these  was  Peter  Minuit,  an 
Eldei  in  the  Church,  to  whom  grateful  tribute  is 
paid,  on  a  mural  tablet  recently  placed  in  the  Mid- 
dle Church  of  this  City,  as  "  a  wholly  incorruptible 
man."  He  was  the  first  of  the  great  Patroons  and  the 
original  director-general  of  this  Commonwealth.  In 
one  of  the  art  collections  of  New  York  there  is  a  pic- 
ture of  a  commercial  transaction  which  occurred  on 
the  Island  of  Manhatas  at  this  time.  The  scene  is  at 
the  southern  extremity  of  the  Island,  near  the  Battery. 
In  the  distance  are  the  heights  of   Staten   Island;  in 


THE    CHURCH   IN    THE    FORT. 


the  foreground  stands  Peter  Minuit,  the  Director, 
attended  by  his  Provincial  Secretary,  the  Sheriff  and 
the  Zieken-troosters.  Red  men,  with  their  squaws 
and  children,  are  gathered  about  examining  with 
wonder  the  cloths  and  trinkets  spread  upon  the  green 
sward.*  The  price  paid  for  the  Island  was  a  paltry 
sixty  florins,  or  about  twenty-five  dollars  in  our  cur- 
rency: but,  trifling  as  the  compensation  seems,  it 
assumes  vast  proportions  when  contrasted  with  the 
methods  of  acquiring  territory  in  other  quarters  at 
that  time;  namely, 

"  The  good  old  plan, 
That  he  may  take  who  has  the  power 
And  he  may  keep  who  can." 

Had  this  honest  mode  of  dealing  with  the  Indian 
tribes  been  followed  elsewhere  and  in  later  times, 
there  would  have  been  fewer  massacres  in  our  his- 
tory and  less  of  national  remorse  for  those  "cen- 
turies of  dishonor,"  which  are  ending  in  the  practical 
extermination  of  a  noble  aboriginal  race. 

The  two  other  notables  who  came  over  in  the 
"Sea  Mew"  were  Jan  Huyck  and  Sebastian  Krol, 
the  Zieken-troosters,  to  whom  were  entrusted  the 
spiritual  affairs  of  the  settlement.  These  men,  in 
addition  to  their  religious  duties,  were  expected  to 
look  after  the  education  of  the  children.  They  were 
the  pioneer  schoolmasters  of  America.  The  school 
which  they  opened  was  turned  over,  seven  years 
later,  to  Adam  Rolandsen,  as  Head-master — and  it 
still  exists,  the  oldest  institution  of  learning  in 
America,   as    "The  Collegiate   School,"  on  Seventy- 

*  There  is,  in  passing,  a  singular  parallel  between  this  transaction  and 
that  of  David  purchasing  the  threshing  floor  of  Araunah  for  sacred  uses. 


THE   CHURCH   IN    THE    FORT.  7 

seventh  street  in  this  city.  Honor  to  whom  honor 
is  due.  The  school-laws  of  Massachusetts,  requiring 
that  a  Master  should  be  employed  for  every  fifty 
families,  were  passed  in  1655;  but  they  were  in 
practical  operation  on  Manhattan  Island  a  quarter  of 
a  century  before.  Far-sighted  men  were  these  Dutch 
settlers:  they  foresaw  the  dangers  that  lay  in  an 
ignorant  suffrage,  and,  with  their  customary  fore- 
sight, thus  early  made  provision  against  it. 

In  1628  the  Reverend  Jonas  Michaelius  arrived, 
under  appointment  of  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam,  to 
minister  to  the  people  of  the  Island  of  Manhatas  in 
holy  things.  He  had  been  looked  for  with  much 
expectancy.  One  may  imagine  the  welcome  that 
awaited  him;  how  at  the  landing  he  was  met,  with 
pomp  and  circumstance,  by  men  with  wide-skirted 
coats  and  queues  tied  up  with  eel-skins,  and  women 
in  white  caps  and  voluminous  petticoats;  how,  pass- 
ing along  the  narrow  street  with  its  scolloped  gables, 
he  entered  a  home,  whose  sanded  floor  had  been 
marked  with  quaint  figures  by  the  skilful  house- 
wife's broom ;  how  he  was  entertained  at  a  generous 
table  spread  with  bread  and  buttermilk  and  oely- 
koeks.  We  have  a  brief  account  of  a  service  held 
one  Sabbath  morning  in  the  loft  of  the  horse-mill 
(which  had  for  two  years  been  used  for  divine  ser- 
vices led  by  the  two  Zieken-troosters)  in  a  letter, 
written  by  the  good  Domine  about  four  months 
later.*  It  is  addressed  to  "The  honorable,  learned 
and  pious  Mr.  Adrian  Smoutius,  faithful  minister 
of  the  holy  gospel  of   Christ  in  his    Church,  upon 


♦This  letter  of  Domine  Michaelius  is  one  of  the  treasures  of  the  Lenox 
Library  in  this  City. 


8  THE   CHURCH   IN    THE    FORT. 

the  Heerengracht,  not  far  from  the  house  of  the 
West  India  Company,  Amsterdam."  He  says:  "  The 
voyage  was  long,  namely,  from  the  24th  of  Jajiuary  till  the 
yth  of  April,  when  we  first  set  foot  on  land.  Of  storm  and 
tempest,  which  fell  hard  upon  the  good  wife  and  childreji, 
though  they  bore  it  better  as  regards  seasickness  and  fear  than 
I  had  expected,  we  had  no  lack,  particularly  in  the  tdcinity  of 
the  Bermudas.  .  .  .  Our  cotning  was  agreeable  to  all, 
and  I  hope,  by  the  grace  of  the  Lord,  that  my  services  7vill  not 
be  unfruitful.  The  people,  for  the  most  part,  are  rough,  and 
unrestrained,  but  I  find  in  most  of  them  both  love  and  re- 
spect towards  me  ;  which,  in  our  calling,  as  your  Reverence 
knows,  are  especially  desirable,  in  order  to  make  our  min- 
istry fruitful.  .  .  .  At  the  first  administration  of  the 
Lord' s  Supper  which  was  observed,  not  without  great  joy 
and  comfort  to  many,  we  had  fully  fifty  communicants, 
Walloons  and  Dutch  ;  of  whotn,  a  portion  made  their  first 
confession  of  faith  before  us,  and  others  exhibited  their 
church  certificates.  We  administer  the  Holy  Sacrament  of 
the  Lord  once  in  four  months,  provisionally,  until  a  larger 
number  of  people  shall  otherwise  require.  The  Walloons 
and  French  have  no  service  on  Sundays,  otherwise  than  in 
the  Dutch  language,  for  those  who  understand  no  Dutch 
are  very  few.  .  .  .  L  keep  myself  as  far  as  prac- 
ticable within  the  pale  of  my  calling,  wherein  I  find  myself 
sufficiently  occupied.  A?id,  although  our  small  Consistory 
embraces  at  the  most,  ivhen  brother  Krol  is  down  here,  *  not 
more  than  fotir  persons,  all  of  whom,  myself  alone  excepted, 
have  also  public  business  to  attend  to,  I  still  hope  to  separate 
carefully   the   ecclesiastical  frojn  the   civil  matters  wJiich 


*  It  appears  to  have  been  arranged  that  the  two  deacons,  Huyck  and 
Krol,  were  to  divide  their  services  between  Fort  Manhatas  and  Fort  Orange, 
now  Albany. 


THE   CHURCH    IN    THE   FORT.  9 

occur ^  SO  that  each  one  will  be  occupied  with  his  own.  .  .  . 
As  to  the  natives  of  this  country  I  find  them  savage  and 
wild,  strangers  to  all  decency,  yea,  uncivil  and  stupid  as 
garden  poles,  proficient  in  all  wickedness  and  godlessness  ; 
in  whofn  J  have  as  yet  been  able  to  discover  hardly  a  single 
good  point,  except  that  they  do  not  speak  so  jeeringly  and  so 
scoffingly  of  the  godlike  and  glorious  majesty  of  their 
Creator  as  the  Africans  dare  do.  But  it  is  because  they 
have  no  certain  knowledge  of  Him,  or  scarcely  any.  If 
we  speak  to  them  of  God,  it  appears  to  them  like  a  dream. 
Frofn  the  Island  of  Manhatas  in  New  Nether- 
land,  this  nth  day  of  August,  Anno,  1628,  by  me,  your 
Reverence's  very  obedient  servant  in  Christ:  Jonas 
MiCHAELius. "  It  is  one  of  my  pleasures,  as  the 
successor  of  Domine  Michaelius,  to  imagine  him 
thus  installed  in  the  room  above  the  horse-mill, 
looking  out  on  the  primitive  scenes  of  our  city's 
earlier  life  and  musing  of  the  future.  The  voices  of 
those  who  were  engaged  in  the  sports  of  the  Bowl- 
ing Green  fell  upon  his  ears;  he  noted  the  sails 
appearing  at  intervals  on  the  distant  sea;  he 
dreamed  dreams  and  saw  visions:  but  surely,  in  his 
wildest  flights  of  fancy,  he  never  supposed  that  the 
young  Commonwealth  would  one  day  lead  the  van 
of  nations,  or  that  this  island  settlement  was  destined 
to  be  the  industrial  center  of  the  world. 

The  Church  thus  established  in  Fort  Amsterdam, 
— the  small  beginning  of  our  Collegiate  Church  and  of 
the  Denomination  known  as  "the  Reformed  Church 
in  America" — stood  for  certain  important  facts. 

In  the  first  place,  it  was  in  its  time  a  conspicuous  land- 
tnark  of  Orthodoxy  j  that  is,  loyalty  to  the  funda- 
mental facts  of  the  Universal  Church.     To  be  more 


lO  THE   CHURCH   IN    THE    FORT. 

specific,  it  Stood  emphatically  for  the  two  great 
truths  of  the  Reformation,  namely,  the  Supremacy 
of  Christ  and  the  Authority  of  Holy  Scripture.  In 
one  of  Carlyle's  essays  he  says:  "  Those  Dutch  are  a 
strong  people.  They  raised  their  land  out  of  a  marsh 
and  went  on  for  a  long  period  of  time  breeding  cows 
and  making  cheese:  and  might  have  gone  on  with 
their  cows  and  cheese  till  doomsday.  But  Spain 
comes  over  and  says,  *  We  want  you  to  believe  in  St. 
Ignatius.' — '  Very  sorry,'  replied  the  Dutch,  '  but  we 
can't.' — '  Aye,  but  you  must,'  said  Spain.  And  they 
went  about  it  with  guns  and  swords  to  make  them 
believe  in  St.  Ignatius.  Never  made  them  believe  in 
him;  but  did  succeed  in  breaking  their  own  vertebral 
column  and  raising  the  Dutch  into  a  great  nation." 
Let  it  be  remembered  that  the  men  who  consti- 
tuted this  Church  in  the  Fort  had  been  in  the  very 
thick  of  the  great  conflict.  The  confused  noise  of 
battle  was  familiar  to  their  ears.  They  knew  the 
horrors  of  the  Inquisition,  the  Spanish  Fury,  the 
thunders  of  the  Vatican,  the  clangor  of  St.  Bartholo- 
mew's bells.  The  little  country  from  which  they 
came  had  been  for  a  century  the  theatre  of  events. 
It  alone  had,  up  to  this  time,  fought  to  a  finish  the 
mighty  conflict  for  civil  and  ecclesiastical  freedom. 
Holland  was  a  refuge  for  the  oppressed  of  all  nations. 
Thither  came  the  Puritans,  fleeing  from  persecution 
in  England ;  the  Covenanters,  from  their  conventicles 
among  the  hills;  the  Huguenots,  driven  from  France; 
and  all  were  afforded  a  welcome.  Thus  the  men  of 
Manhatas  knew  the  value  of  truths  dearly  vindicated ; 
and,  in  their  frontier  home,  they  never  swerved  from 
loyalty  to  their  convictions.     Christ  and  the  Bible 


THE   CHURCH    IN    THE    FORT,  U 

were  their  watchwords.  The  Incarnate  Word  and 
the  Written  Word,  each  complementary  to  the  other, 
both  alike  inerrant,  and  together  constituting  a  com- 
plete Revelation  of  the  divine  will. 

It  is  sometimes  asked  why,  amid  the  controversies 
which  have  vexed  the   other  denominations  in  our 
country,  the  Reformed  Church  has  enjoyed  an  undis- 
turbed   peace.      The    answer   may  be    found    in   the 
rigid   Terms  of  Subscription  by  which  its   ministers 
are  held  to  its  doctrinal  symbols.     They  are  set  forth 
in    the    Constitution    as    follows:     "  We,  the   under- 
written,   testify,    that  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,    and  the 
Confession  of  the  Netherland  Churches,  as  also  the  Canons 
of  the  National  Synod  of  Dordrecht,  held  in  the  years 
1618  ajid  i6ip,   are  fully  conformable  to  the   Word  of 
God.      We  promise,  moreover,  that,  as  far  as  we  are  able, 
we  will,  with  all  faithfulness,  teach  and  defend,  both  in 
public  and  private,  the  doctrines  established  in  the  standards 
aforesaid.     And,  should  ever  any  part  of  these  doctrines 
appear  to  us  dubious,  we  will  not  divulge  the  same  to  the 
people,  nor  disturb  the  peace  of  the  Church,  or  of  any  coni- 
ftiunity  J  but  will  comniunicate  our  sentiments  to  the  eccle- 
siastical judicatories  under  which  we  stand,   and  subject 
ourselves  to  the  counsel  and  sentence  of  the  same"     Now 
turning  to  the  Canons  of  the  Synod  of  Dort,  we  find 
the  following  statement  as  to  Inspiration,  the   doc- 
trine which  has  fui  nished  the  chief  occasion  of  contro- 
versy in  these  times:      "  We  receive  the  books  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testament,  and  these  only,  as  holy  and  canoni- 
cal, for  the  regulation,  fou7idation  and  confirmation  of  our 
faith  J  believing  zuithout  any  doubt,  all  things  contained  in 
them,  not  so  much  because  the  Church  receives  and  approves 
them  as  such,  but  more  especially  because  the  Holy  Ghost 


12  THE   CHURCH    IN    THE   FORT. 

ivitnesseth  in  our  hearts  that  they  are  from  God,  whereof 
they  carry  the  evidence  in  themselves.     For  the  very  blind 
are  able  to  perceive  that  the  things  foretold  i?i  them  are  ful- 
filling.    .     .      We  believe  that  they  fully  contain  the  will 
of  God,  and  that  whatsoever  man  oiight  to  believe,   unto 
salvation,    is  sufficiently   taught    therein.     For  since   the 
whole  manner  of  worship  which   God  requires  of  us,  is 
written   in   them   at  large,  it  is   unlawful  for  any  one, 
though  an  apostle,   to  teach  otherwise   than  we  are  now 
taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  :     Nay,  though  it  were  an 
angel  from  heaven,  as  the  apostle  Paul  saith.     For,  since 
it  is  forbidden,  to  add  unto  or  take  away  anythijig  from  the 
word  of   God,   it  doth  thereby  evidently  appear,   that  the 
doctrine  thereof  is  most peifect  and  complete  in  all  respects. 
Neither  may  we  compare  any  writings  of  men,  though  ever 
so  holy,  with  those  divine  Scriptures,  nor  ought  we  to  com- 
pare custom,  or  the  great  multitude,  or  antiquity,  or  suc- 
cession of  times  and  persons,  or  councils,  decrees  or  statutes, 
with  the  truth  of  God,  for  the  truth  is  above  all. " 

It  is  obvious  from  the  foregoing,  that  ministers  In 
the  Reformed  Church  in  America  are  held,  in  common 
honesty,  to  a  rigid  adherence  to  the  truthfulness  of 
Holy  Writ,  as  well  as  to  the  cardinal  doctrines  of 
our  common  faith.  We,  who  have  affixed  our  signa- 
tures to  those  historic  symbols,  are  obliged,  so  long 
as  we  remain  in  this  fellowship,  to  declare  their 
propositions  without  fear  or  favor,  save  the  fear  and 
favor  of  the  living  God, 

It  is  with  us  as  it  was  with  Latimer  on  the  occa- 
sion of  his  famous  "  recantation  "  before  Henry 
VIII.  He  had  been  summoned  to  appease  the  royal 
wrath  on  account  of  a  bold  discourse  on  the  previous 
Sabbath.     He  announced  his  text,  and  began  with  a 


THE   CHURCH    IN    THE    FORT.  1 3 

soliloquy  on  this  wise:  **  Hugh  Latimer!  Remember 
before  whom  thou  appearest  this  day.  The  King  of 
England  hath  power  to  cast  thee  into  the  dungeon; 
aye,  to  take  away  thy  life  from  thee.  Take  heed, 
therefore,  what  thou  sayest  before  him."  Then, 
pausing  a  moment,  he  continued,  "Hugh  Latimer! 
Remember  from  whom  thou  comest  this  day.  The 
King  of  kings,  before  whom  all  sovereigns  must 
bow;  whose  thou  art  and  whom  thou  servest.  He 
hath  power  to  cast  both  thy  soul  and  body  into  hell. 
Hugh  Latimer!  Take  heed  that  thou  declare  fear- 
lessly tjhe  whole  counsel  of  God!" 

In  the  seco7id  place,  the  Church  in  the  Fort  stood,  as 
the  Reformed  Church  still  stands,  for  Catholicity.  Not 
for  a  spurious  catholicity,  or  so-called  "  liberalism," 
which  involves  a  compromise  of  loyalty  to  truth. 
At  that  point  there  can  be  no  compromise.  Truth, 
as  it  presents  itself  to  an  honest  mind,  is  of  more 
value  than  life  itself.  Nor  is  there  any  compromise 
as  to  ecclesiastical  polity.  The  statement  that  the 
Reformed  Church  is  "semi-liturgical";  is  incorrect. 
It  has  indeed  a  complete  liturgy,  which  may  be  used 
in  whole  or  in  part,  being  purely  optional;  but  our 
Denomination  is  not  semi-liturgical,  nor  semi-doc- 
trinal, nor  semi-ethical,  nor  ^^w/ anything.  It  stands 
ever  for  whole  and  positive  facts. 

But  it  stands  for  them  in  a  spirit  of  fraternal 
magnanimity.  It  acknowledges,  with  cordial  and 
broad  affection,  the  Christian  status  of  all  ecclesias- 
tical bodies  holding  to  the  authority  of  the  Incarnate 
and  Written  Word  of  God.  An  example  is  found 
in  the  courtesy  which  was  extended  to  the  Episcopal 
Church  at  the  time  of  the  English  occupation  in  1664. 


14  THE    CHURCH   IN   THE   FORT. 

At  that  time  the  Episcopalians,  having  no  place  of 
worship,  accepted  the  invitation  of  the  Dutch  Domine 
and  his  people,  and  for  a  period  of  twenty-nine  years 
held  services  in  the  Dutch  Church  in  the  Fort, 

An  illustration  of  still  greater  significance  is  found 
in  the  persistency  with  which  the  old  Church  held  to 
the  Voluntary  Principle  in  religion.  The  conflict  in 
Holland  had  turned,  in  fact,  upon  the  question  of 
the  Establishment;  that  is,  whether  or  no  all  people 
have  an  equal  right  to  worship  God  in  their  own 
way.  It  was  for  this  that  the  city  of  Leyden  was 
held  until  its  defenders  were  emaciated  with  hunger 
and  the  dead  lay  unburied  in  the  streets.  And  when, 
in  their  extremity,  the  demand  came  for  surrender, 
they  hurled  defiance  over  their  walls  in  those  historic 
words,  "  Rather  will  we  eat  our  left  arms  that  we 
may  have  strength  with  our  right  to  defend  the  free- 
dom of  conscience."  The  men  of  New  Amster- 
dam proved  themselves  to  be  worthy  sons  of  those 
noble  sires.  No  sooner  had  the  English  taken  pos- 
session of  New  Amsterdam  than  the  effort  was  made 
to  set  up  a  State  Church.  Not  once,  nor  twice,  but 
thrice  was  it  proposed  by  the  legislative  councils  of 
this  Commonwealth  to  legalize  exclusively  the 
Anglican  form  of  worship;  and  on  each  occasion  it 
was  resisted  and  defeated  by  the  representatives  of 
the  Church  in  the  Fort.  Their  feeling  as  to  such  an 
Establishment  was  formulated,  a  hundred  years  later, 
by  an  Irish  orator,  into  whose  soul  the  iron  had 
entered,  in  these  words:  "It  is  afoul  and  adulterous 
connection,  which  pollutes  the  purity  of  heaven  with 
the  abomination  of  earth,  and  hangs  the  tattered 
rags  of  political  piety  on  the  insulted  cross  of  a  cru- 


THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  FORT.  I5 

cified  Redeemer!  "  In  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  there  is  an  article  prohibiting  forever  the 
erection  of  a  State  Church.  I  believe  that  article 
would  never  have  been  framed  but  for  the  unswerv- 
ing attitude  of  our  Dutch  forefathers.  The  credit  is 
usually  given  to  the  Puritans  of  New  England;  but, 
in  deference  to  the  justice  of  history,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  the  Voluntary  Principle  was  never 
fully  recognized  by  them,  as  shown  in  their  treat- 
ment of  the  Quakers  and  Anabaptists.  The  words 
of  Mrs.  Hemans,  written  in  their  honor,  might  far 
more  appropriately  be  used  to  characterize  the  spirit 
of  the  Dutch  pilgrims: 

What  sought  they  thus  afar? 

Bright  jewels  of  the  mine  ? 
The  wealth  of  seas,  the  spoils  of  war? 

They  sought  a  faith's  pure  shrine. 

Aye  ;  call  it  holy  ground, 

The  ground  whereon  they  trod  ; 
They  left  unstained,  what  there  they  found, 

Freedom  to  worship  God. 

In  the  third  place  the  Church  t?i  the  Fort  stood  for  a 
Noble  Spirit  of  Enterprise.  Let  this  be  emphasized  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  the  Reformed  Church  has  been 
characterized  as  "that  people  whose  strength  is  to  sit 
still." 

The  inquiry  arises,  How  does  it  happen  that  a 
church,  which  has  a  preemption  right,  so  to  speak, 
in  this  continent,  can  show  only  four  hundred  thou- 
sand adherents,  while  the  Baptist,  Methodist  and 
Presbyterian  brethren  count  up  into  the  millions  ? 
The  answer  is  not  far  to  seek. 

One  reason  is  found  in  the  brief  tenure  which  the 


l6  THE   CHURCH   IN    THE    FORT. 

Dutch  had  on  this  Island.  They  were  in  possession 
only  until  1664;  that  is,  during  a  period  of  thirty- 
six  years.  And  at  the  time  of  the  English  occu- 
pation, when  they  were  dispossessed,  the  town  of 
New  Amsterdam  consisted  of  three  hundred  houses 
with  a  paltry  population  of  fifteen  hundred.  The 
**  preemption  right,"  therefore,  was  but  a  slim  affair. 

Another  reason  is  to  be  found  in  the  facility  with 
which  the  Dutch  people  have  ever  coalesced  with 
their  environment.  The  vital  current  of  their  life  has 
lost  itself  in  the  arterial  system  of  our  country.  It  is 
significant  that  one  never  hears  of  "Dutch-Ameri- 
cans." On  the  other  hand  the  Scotch,  the  Germans, 
the  Huguenots  who  settled  in  the  Carolinas,  the  Caval- 
iers of  Virginia,  and  the  Puritans  of  New  England  have 
kept  themselves  more  r  less  separate  and  distinct.  The 
course  of  Puritan  influence  in  America  may  be  traced 
as  clearly  as  any  river  course.  The  Du^ch  factor  in 
our  civilization  has  been  rather  like  the  dew  which 
comes  not  with  observation,  and  reveals  itself  only 
in  beneficent  results.  You  awake  in  the  morning 
and  finding  the  grass  greener,  the  air  fresher,  you 
say  "  Last  night  the  dew  fell. "  It  is  impossible  to 
estimate  the  extent  or  depth  of  influence  exercised 
upon  our  American  institutions  by  those  who,  in 
these  passing  centuries,  have  with  little  or  no  self 
assertion,  maintained  thus  unswervingly  the  great 
fundamental  facts  which  make  for  civil  and  ecclesi- 
astical freedom. 

And  still  another  explanation  of  the  relatively 
inferior  numbers  of  the  Reformed  Church  lies  in  its 
magnanimous  attitude  toward  other  ecclesiastical 
bodies.     It  has  deferred  to  them,  as  Abraham  did  to 


THE   CHURCH   IN    THE    FORT, 


17 


Lot,  saying  "Behold,  the  land  is  before  thee;  take 
thou  the  left  hand  ard  I  will  take  the  right;  or  take 
thou  the  right  hand  and  I  will  take  the  left.  Let 
there  be  no  strife  between  us. "  And  surely  this,  if 
it  be  a  fault,  is  one  of  those  "faults  that  lean  to 
virtue's  side." 

But  if  the  Reformed  Church  has  been  at  default 
in  Home  Missions,  it  may  point  with  pardonable 
pride  to  its  work  in  universal  evangelization.  It  was 
as  a  Foreign  Missionary  that  Dominie  Michaelius 
came  to  the  New  World,  turning  his  back  upon  his 
home  and  father's  house  and  go  ng  forth  like  Abra- 
ham "  to  a  country  that  he  knew  not."  And  to  day 
there  is  no  denomination  in  Christendom  that  shows 
statistically  a  larger  devotion  to  the  great  work  of 
the  kingdom  than  ours.  Dr.  Francis  E.  Clark,  on 
his  return  from  a  recent  trip  around  the  world,  said 
to  me,  "  I  have  made  a  canvass  of  missionary  stations 
wherever  I  have  gone,  and  nowhere  have  I  found 
anything  superior  to  the  work  which  is  being  done 
by  the  Reformed  Church.  In  Japan,  India,  China, 
Arabia,  the  success  of  your  missionaries  is  a  proverb. 
And  they  themselves,  your  Verbeck,  your  Scudders 
and  Chamberlains  and  Zwemers  and  others,  are 
m'ghty  men  of  God." 

At  the  close  of  my  ten  years  in  this  Denomina- 
tion, as  one  of  the  ministers  of  the  Collegiate  Church, 
permit  me  to  bear  testimony  to  what  is  being  accom- 
plished on  this  Island.  The  old  Church  in  the  Fort 
is  loyal  to  its  honorable  traditions.  It  stands  as  ever 
for  truth,  for  broad  Catholicity,  for  holy  zeal.  Its 
people,  undisturbed  by  strifes  and  jealousies,  can 
sing  with  heart  and  understanding,  "  Blest  be  the  tie 


l8  THE   CHURCH    IN   THE   FORT. 

that  binds. "  And  as  to  the  ministers  with  whom  I 
have  been  associated  during  these  years,  I  have 
never  known  a  truer,  kindlier,  more  devoted  body  of 
Christian  men. 

And  now  as  to  the  outlook.  The  golden  chanti- 
cleer on  the  spire  of  this  beloved  church  calls  us  to 
newer  and  more  earnest  life.  We  cannot  live  upon 
the  record  of  the  past,  however  honorable  it  may  be 
We  cannot  grind  our  grist  with  waters  that  have 
gone  by.  Two  things  we  need  above  all:  One  is 
denominational  loyalty.  Not  that  we  should  love  less 
our  brethren  of  the  other  churches,  but  that  we 
should  love  more  and  more  the  Denomination  to 
which  we  are  bound  by  covenant  vows.  It  has  a 
definite  place  in  the  sisterhood  of  churches.  It 
stands  for  something-  and  it  should  take  its  place  in 
the  forefront  of  the  phalanx  which  advances  to  the 
conquest  of  our  country  and  the  world.  It  is  said 
that  the  bell  which  summoned  the  people  to  worship 
in  the  Church  in  the  Fort  had  been  captured  in  Porto 
Rico,  during  the  wars  of  the  Spanish  Fury.  How 
history  repeats  itself!  To-day  that  country,  taken 
from  the  Spaniards,  is  a  dependency  of  our  beloved 
land.  O  that  we  might  hear  again  the  old  bell,  call- 
ing us  to  meet  the  new  responsibilities  laid  upon  us 
by  the  logic  of  events,  calling  us  to  fall  in  line  with 
the  imperialism  of  the  great  propaganda,  calling  us 
to  lend  an  eager  hand,  in  the  bringing  of  all  peoples 
to  the  saving  knowledge  of  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

And  we  need,  finally,  a  larger  enthusiasm  in  every 
department  of  the  service  of  Christ.  These  are  days 
of  spiritual  conquest.  It  is  no  time  to  be  recanvass- 
ing  the  discussions  of  cardinal  truth.     It  is  recorded 


THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    FORT.  IQ 

of    Scipio,    that,   on    returning  from    his    victorious 
campaign  in  Africa,— a  campaign  so  glorious  that  it 
gave  him  his  title  "  Africanus,"— was  met  at  Rome 
not,  as  he  had  hoped,  by  welcome  acclamations,  but 
by  frivolous  charges  of  malfeasance   in  office.      He 
was  summoned  to  the  Forum  ;  the  indictment  was 
read,  and  he  was  called  upon  to  answer.      He  began 
at  once  to  rehearse  the  victories  of  his  African  cam- 
paign; and  continued  thus  until  nightfall.     The  next 
morning  he  was  summoned  again  to  answer.     "  Citi- 
zens of  Rome,"  he  said,  *'this  is  the  anniversary  of 
the  battle  of  Zama.      A  year  ago  to-day  I  led    the 
militant  hosts    of    Rome  against    Hannibal  and    the 
Carthaginians.       All  that  day  we  upheld  the  Golden 
Eagle  on    the    field.        Night    came,    and    many    of 
your   friends  lay   dead  with    multitudes    of  the  foe. 
We  had  won  a  glorious  victory  for  Rome  !     O  citi- 
zens, is  it  a  time  for  parleys  and  conferences  ?     Let 
us  hence  to  the  temple,  and  render  our  thanksgiving 
to  the  gods  ! "     And  the  people  bore  him  away  upon 
their  shoulders,    leaving  the  Tribunes  alone.      We, 
in  our  churches,  have  been  all  too  zealous  in  contro- 
versies that  ill  befit  the  time.     The  call  is  no  longer 
for, .  apologetics     but    for    dynamics.       God    wants 
reapers  who  shall  thrust"  in  Iheir  sickles  and    reap 
for  him.     In  the   reaping  of  to-day  and  the  garner- 
ing of  the  future  let  us  highly  resolve  that,  as  in  the 
seed-sowing   of   the    past,    our    Denomination    shall 
bear  its  part.     True  to   the  splendid  courage  of  our 
forefathers,  let  us  uplift  the  banner  of  the  cross,  and 
with  the  old  watchword   Oranje  boven  !  lend  our  ut- 
most strength  to  the  bringing  of  our  country  and  the 
world  to  Christ. 


THE  OLD  BOOK  AND  THE  NEW  CEN- 
TURY. 

"The  Voice  said,  Cry.  And  he  said,  What  shall  I  cry?  All  flesh  is 
grass,  and  all  the  goodliness  thereof  is  as  the  flower  of  the  field  :  the  grass 
withereth,  the  flower  fadeth  :  because  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  bloweth  upon  it : 
surely  the  people  is  grass.  The  grass  withereth,  the  flower  fadeth  :  but  the 
word  of  our  God  shall  stand  forever."— Isaiah  40,  6-8. 

The  legendary  siege  of  Troy  was  carried  on  for  a 
period  of  ten  years  without  effect.  The  army  of  the 
Greeks,  a  hundred  thousand  strong,  crossing  the 
Mgean  in  a  thousand  ships,  encircled  the  doomed  city 
as  in  the  coils  of  a  great  serpent.  On  the  surround- 
ing hills  were  planted  catapults,  from  which  an 
unceasing  tempest  of  great  stones  went  hurtling 
through  the  air.  At  length,  with  the  use  of  batter- 
ing rams,  a  breach  was  effected  in  the  outer  ram- 
parts, and  the  army  surged  through,  only  to  find  the 
Trojans  secure  in  their  citadel.  All  the  strength  and 
ingenuity  of  the  invadmg  host  were  then  directed 
against  this  ultimate  stronghold,  which  was  finally 
taken  by  stratagem.  A  wooden  horse,  purporting  to 
be  a  propitiatory  offering  to  Athena,  but  really  con- 
taining a  band  of  Greek  warriors,  was  sent  by  the 
Greeks  and  received  by  the  unsuspecting  Trojans 
within  their  citadel.  At  night  the  warriors  issued 
forth  and  opened  the  gates  to  the  beleaguering  host; 
and  thus  Troy  fell. 

(80) 


THE  OLD  BOOK  AND  THE  NEW  CENTURY.     21 

The  citadel  of  our  religion  is  the  Bible.  It  is  the 
only  authoritative  testimony  as  to  him  of  whom  we 
sing,  "The  Church's  one  foundation  is  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord."  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  the 
fiercest  assaults  of  Antichrist  have,  from  the  begin- 
ning, been  directed  against  these  Oracles.  In  the 
Garden  of  Eden  our  first  parents  were  tempted  by 
the  suggestion,  "  Yea,  hath  God  said  ?  "  and  "  Yea, 
hath  God  said  ? "  is  still  the  scornful  and  contemptu- 
ous challenge  of  the  enemies  of  truth. 

As  we  look  backward   from  the  border  line  of  the 
centuries,  we  observe  that   there  has   been  no  cessa- 
tion in  the  attack  upon  the  Scriptures.      The  Nine- 
teenth Century  was  ushered  in  amid  a  lurid  storm  of 
infidelity.    In  France,  the  Reign  of  Terror  had  swept 
away  all  sanctions  of  the  Moral  Law.    It  was  solemnly 
resolved   in  the  Corps   Legislatif  that    there    is    no 
God;  the  Sabbath  was  erased  from  the  statute  books; 
the    friends    of     the    Encyclopedia    were    chanting 
requiems  at  the  tomb  of  Christianity;  Voltaire  said, 
*'Iam   going  through  the   forest  of  your  Christian 
doctrines  and   I  will  girdle  every  tree,  so  that  pres- 
ently not  a  sapling  shall  be  left  to  you."    All  Europe 
aped  the  freethinkers  of  France.    In  our  own  country 
religion  was  at  its  lowest  ebb.      It  is  said  that  in  the 
year  1800  there  were  only  three  professing  Christians 
in  Yale  College.     Thomas  Paine  brought  the  manu- 
script of  his  "Age  of  Reason,"  in  which  were  pre- 
sented all  the  stock  arguments  against  the  inerrancy 
of  the  Scriptures,  to  his  friend    Benjamin    Franklin 
for   review.      "Do    not    unloose    this    tiger,"    said 
Franklin ;   "if  our  people  are  what  they  are  with  the 
Bible,  what  would  they  be  without  it?  "     But  the 


2  2     THE  OLD  BOOK  AND  THE  NEW  CENTURY. 

tiger  was  unchained.  Paine  and  his  confreres 
appeared  to  have  everything  their  own  way.  A 
great  tidal  wave  swept  over  the  country.  It 
seemed  as  if  the  foundations  of  the  mighty  deep 
were  broken  up. 

The  Twentieth  Century  comes  in  amid  a  similar 
tempest.  He  is  but  a  purblind  seer  who  does  not  per- 
ceive that  Christianity  has  made  magnificent  progress ; 
yet  every  step  of  that  progress  has  been  fiercely  con- 
tested. And  there  is  a  startling  contrast  between  the 
former  methods  of  the  adversary  and  those  of  to-day. 
In  our  time,  the  assault  is  wholly  from  within.  There 
is  an  ominous  silence  in  the  Trojan  camp.  The  great 
leaders  of  open  and  avowed  infidelity  are  gone. 
Bradlaugh  in  England  and  IngersoU  in  America  were 
the  last  of  the  old  guard.  Open  warfare  has  given 
way  to  strategy.  The  Trojan  horse  has  been  brought 
within  the  walls;  and  a  body  of  militant  critics,  many 
of  them  wearing  the  sacred  garb  of  theological  pro- 
fessors and  ministers  of  the  gospel,  have  been  attempt- 
ing to  draw  the  bolts  of  the  citadel  gates.  Here  is  a  sig- 
nificant fact:  there  is  not  a  fundamental  truth  of  the 
Christian  religion  which  has  not  recently  been  called 
in  question  and  assailed  by  men  in  holy  orders,  by  men 
solemnly  covenanted  to  uphold  and  defend  those  very 
truths.  The  objective  point  of  the  assault  is  now,  as 
ever,  the  integrity  of  Holy  Writ.  It  is  well  under- 
stood that  if  the  citadel  be  overthrown,  the  city  falls. 

And  what  is  the  result?  It  might  easily  be  supposed 
from  the  blowing  of  trumpets  and  beating  of  drums, 
and  from  the  frequent  claim  that  all  scholarship  is 
arrayed  against  the  credibility  of  the  Scriptures,  that 
the  Lord  himself  had  retired  from  the  field.     But  he 


THE  OLD  BOOK  AND  THE  NEW  CENTURY.     23 

that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  shall  laugh!  Let  us  not 
be  deceived.  The  thing  that  hath  been  shall  be. 
Despite  the  boastful  prophecy  of  Voltaire,  there  are 
saplings  still  growing  in  the  forest  of  God.  There 
are  reverent  scholars  who  do  not  trumpet  their 
achievements  or  blazon  them  on  the  dead  walls,  and 
multitudes  of  devout  people  who  are  not  taken  up  in 
the  lips  of  talkers.  The  Lord  reigns,  and  the  citadel 
is  safe.  The  heart  of  the  universal  Church  beats  true 
to  the  integrity  of  the  Word  of  God. 

Let  us  now  review  more  specifically  the  salient 
points  of  the  controversy  of  these  hundred  years. 
Let  us  inquire  how  this  continuous  assault  has 
affected  the  integrity  of  the  Scriptures,  if  at  all. 

I.  As  to  their  Literary  Value.  How  stands  the 
Bible  as  literature;  as  a  mere  book  among  books? 
Here  there  is  no  difference  of  opinion.  "  Of  making 
many  books  there  is  no  end."  Is  there  anywhere  a 
living  man  who  would  venture  to  assert  that  any  one 
of  the  many  thousands  of  volumes  issued  by  the  press 
during  the  last  year  is  comparable  with  the  Bible  in 
literary  merit  ?  And  this  is  the  more  noteworthy  when 
one  pauses  to  consider  that  the  old  Book  was  produced 
in  a  remarkable  way,  by  forty-four  different  writers, 
representing  all  sorts  and  degrees  of  civilization, 
whose  work  covered  a  period  of  sixteen  centuries, 
and  was  sealed  with  a  "Finis"  nineteen  hundred 
years  ago.  Where  will  you  find  such  poetry  ?  John 
Milton  said,  "There  are  no  songs  like  the  songs 
of  Zion."  Or  such  oratory?  Daniel  Webster  said, 
"  If  there  is  aught  of  eloquence  in  me,  it  is  because 
I  learned  the  Scriptures  at  my  mother's  knee."  Or 
such  profundity  of  logic?     Lord  Bacon  said,  "There 


24  THE   OLD    BOOK    AND    THE    NEW   CENTURY. 

is  no  philosophy  like  that  of  the  Scriptures."  Where 
will  you  find  such  unity,  such  completeness  of  beauty 
and  power?  Froude  said,  "  The  Bible  is  in  and  of 
itself  a  liberal  education."  Where,  among  all  the  mul- 
titudinous volumes  of  the  ages,  will  you  find  aught 
worthy  of  a  place  beside  it?  "  Bring  me  the  Book," 
said  Sir  Walter  Scott  on  his  death-bed. — "What 
Book?  "— "  There  is  but  one,  the  Bible." 

A  glory  gilds  the  sacred  page, 

Majestic,  like  the  sun: 

It  gives  a  light  to  every  age, 

It  gives  and  borrows  none. 

The  Hand  that  gave  it  still  supplies 

The  gracious  light  and  heat; 

His  truths  upon  the  nations  rise, 

They  rise  but  never  set. 

II.  As  to  the  Science  of  the  Scriptures.  Here,  they 
say,  is  their  most  vulnerable  point.  There  are  those 
who  would  foil  the  adversary  by  asserting  that  the 
Bible  was  not  meant  to  be  a  scientific  book.  Granted : 
but  it  was  meant  to  be  a  true  book,  every  way.  The 
veracity  of  the  witness  must  not  be  impugned,  here 
or  anywhere  else,  lest  that  venerable  rule  of  evidence 
be  quoted  against  us ;  Falsus  in  tmo,  falsus  in  omnibus. 

It  is  claimed  with  much  vociferation  that  great 
scientists  of  the  past,  as  of  our  time,  have  been 
arrayed  against  the  scientific  statements  of  this  Book. 
But  what  of  Descartes  and  Locke  ?  What  of  Sir 
Isaac  Newton  and  Michael  Faraday  ?  What  of  Dana 
and  Agassiz  and  Lord  Kelvin  ?  The  last  words  of 
Professor  Dana  of  Yale  to  the  Class  of  '67  were  these: 
"  Young  men,  you  are  going  out  into  a  world  where 
you  must  meet  an  unceasing  attack  upon  your  faith. 


THE  OLD  BOOK  AND  THE  NEW  CENTURY.     25 

Let  me  ask  you  to  remember,  as  my  parting  counsel, 
that  whenever  you  are  in  doubt  amid  the  confused 
voices  of  scientific  controversy,  you  may  always  with 
perfect  confidence  affix  your  faith  to  any  statement  of 
the  Word  of  God." 

The  one  proposition  of  the  Scriptures  which  has 
challenged  contradiction  is  its  doctrine  of  Origins,  to 
wit,  "  In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heavens  and 
the  earth."  To  meet  this,  the  doctrinaires  have 
suggested  a  theory  of  evolution  which,  it  is  asserted, 
is  now  universally  accepted.  So  far  is  this  from 
being  true  that  we  may  safely  leave  the  disposition 
of  this  theory  to  scientists  themselves :  since  it  is  most 
vigorously  opposed  in  that  quarter.  Charles  Darwin, 
head-master  of  the  guild  of  evolutionists,  was  frank 
to  admit  that  evolution  is  as  yet  a  mere  hypothesis. 
We  may  be  excused  for  insisting  that,  under  such 
circumstances,  the  shout  of  victory  on  the  part  of 
those  who  deny  the  Mosaic  cosmogony  is  premature. 
The  age-old  view  of  the  creation  has  not  yet  been 
overthrown  by  a  hypothesis.  Gibraltar  is  not  to  be 
battered  down  with  a  bulrush. 

Nor  have  the  efforts  of  the  experimentalists  met 
with  any  better  success.  They  have  much  to  say  of 
Autogenesis,  or  a  beginning  without  God.  As  an 
oldfashioned  believer,  I,  for  one,  am  ready  to  sur- 
render my  faith  in  the  Biblical  doctrine  of  origins,  so 
soon  as  one  of  these  experimentalists  shall  create  a 
single  grain  of  sand.  Surely  this  is  not  overmuch  to 
ask  of  men  whose  magic  has  to  do  with  worlds  and 
universes.  Let  them  produce  a  daisy,  or  a  cater- 
pillar, to  begin  with.  But  until  some  such  result 
shall  have  been  attained,  we  may  be  pardoned  for 


26  THE   OLD    BOOK    AND    THE   NEW    CENTURY. 

standing  by  the  old   manifesto,  "In  the  beginning, 
God." 

III.  As  to  the  Historicity  of  the  Bible.  The  attack 
here  has  been  directed  at  the  Pentateuch.  How 
much  of  the  Pentateuch  remains  ?  It  all  remains. 
Not  a  single  event  recorded  in  those  venerable  chron- 
icles has  been  successfully  impugned.  On  the  other 
hand  the  researches  of  archaeologists  have  verified, 
one  after  another,  such  of  its  statements  as  had  been 
called  in  question.  It  was  long  asserted,  for 
example,  that  Moses  could  not  have  written  the 
Pentateuch  because  the  art  of  writing  was  undis- 
covered in  his  day.  Then  came  the  Man  with  the 
Spade,  and  from  the  exhumed  ruins  of  Tel  el-Amarna 
it  was  made  evident  that  Babylonish  kings  were 
corresponding  with  each  other  a  century  before  Moses 
was  born. — It  is  said  again  that  the  story  of  Israel 
and  the  Pharaohs  was  unhistoric.  Along  came  the 
Man  with  the  Spade  and  opened  the  sepulchers  at 
Thebes;  and  in  the  Museum  of  Boulak  to-day  the 
mummy  of  old  Meneptah,  the  Pharaoh  of  the  Exodus, 
ends  the  argument. — It  was  insisted  again  that  the 
tale  of  Balaam  and  Balak  must  have  been  fabulous, 
since  Jews  and  Moabites  spoke  different  tongues. 
But  the  Man  with  the  Spade  unearthed  the  Moabite 
Stone,  and  revealed  the  fact  that  the  Jews  and 
Moabites  spoke  kindred  dialects  of  the  Hebrew. — 
The  existence  of  the  Hittites  was  persistently  chal- 
lenged on  the  ground  that  no  mention  was  to  be 
found  of  any  such  people  except  in  the  Scriptures :  but 
the  Man  with  the  Spade  dug  up  the  ruins  of  ancient 
cities,  and  made  it  plain  from  royal  seals  and 
cylinders  that  the  Hittites  had  not  only  lived  but  had 


THE  OLD  BOOK  AND  THE  NEW  CENTURY.     27 

contended  for  mastery  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  Thus,  one  by  one,  the  objections  against  the 
historicity  of  the  Pentateuch  have  been  met  and 
answered.  It  is  as  if  God  had  prepared  a  great 
"trial  ledger,"  recorded  on  the  walls  and  tombs  of 
buried  civilizations,  by  which  to  verify  the  chronicles 
of  Scripture,  when  any  venturesome  caviler  should 
presume  to  challenge  them. 

IV,  As  to  the  Theology  of  the  Scriptures ;  that  is, 
their  doctrine  of  God.  There  are  no  atheists  in  our 
time.  The  infidelity  of  the  last  century  has  not 
busied  itself  in  denying  God  so  much  as  in  making 
new  gods.  The  Pagan  world  has  still  its  pantheon 
of  idols  formed  of  wood  and  stone:  but  civilized 
idolaters  have  been  industriously  making  gods  of 
their  own  fancy.  They  are  none  the  less  idols;  since, 
having  eyes,  they  see  not  and,  having  ears,  they  hear 
not.  Any  god  save  the  God  of  the  Bible  will 
answer  for  the  freethinker  of  these  days.  Any  but 
the  God  of  Creation,  of  Providence  and  of  Grace! 
Law,  Force,  Energy,  the  All-pervading  Soul  of  the 
Universe,  a  "Something  not  ourselves  that  maketh 
for  Righteousness."  What  matters  it,  which  you 
prefer?  All  are  mere  specters.  All  are  dull,  sense- 
less things.  In  vain  do  their  devotees  cry,  "  O  Baal, 
hear  us!  "  There  is  no  voice  nor  answer  nor  any  that 
regardeth. 

The  result  is  precisely  what  it  was  in  ancient 
Greece;  in  the  midst  of  the  shrines  and  statues 
stands  one  altar,  representing  the  consummate  fruit 
of  human  wisdom,  inscribed,  "To  the  unknown 
God!  "  and  still  rings  forth  the  voice  from  Areopagus, 
Him  whom  ye  ignorantly  worship,  declare  we  unto 


i( 


28     THE  OLD  BOOK  AND  THE  NEW  CENTURY. 

you."  The  God  of  the  Bible  remains  the  only  God 
who  satisfies  our  need.  He  alone  rules  over  the  des- 
tinies of  nations  and  of  men.  He  alone  hearkens  to 
the  cry  of  pain  and  ignorance  and  guilt.  He  alone 
is  the  God  of  Salvation,  And  this  God  is  our  God 
forever  and  ever! 

V.  As  to  the  Ethics  of  Scripture,  How  much  of  the 
Moral  Code  here  set  forth  has  perished  in  the  hot 
fires  of  these  hundred  years  of  controversy?  It  all 
remains;  it  remains  with  not  so  much  as  the  smell  of 
fire  upon  it. 

The  two  great  ethical  symbols  of  Scripture  are 
the  Decalogue  and  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  which 
is  Christ's  exposition  of  it.  Who  has  aught  to  say 
against  the  Decalogue?  Is  there  anywhere  a  man 
bold  enough  to  pass  adverse  judgment  upon  it?  Or 
who  presumes  to  criticise  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount? 
Let  the  moral  code  of  the  Scriptures  be  judged 
by  its  fruits.  Time,  the  great  sifter,  has  demon- 
strated beyond  all  cavil  or  peradventure  that  this 
Code  can  do  two  things.  It  can  make  a  nation.  Of 
all  the  great  governments  of  the  earth  founded  upon 
the  principles  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical  freedom,  of 
human  enlightenment  and  human  rights,  there  is  to- 
day not  one  that  is  not  embraced  within  the  charmed 
circle  of  Christendom  and  that  does  not  reflect  in  its 
constitutional  franchise,  in  its  laws  and  jurispru- 
dence, the  ethical  system  of  the  Decalogue  and  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount. 

And  this  morality  of  the  Bible  also  makes  men. 
For  between  its  two  great  ethical  symbols  stands 
Jesus  Christ,  the  living  illustration  of  the  perfect 
Law,  an  exemplar  to   all   right    thinking  and    right 


THE   OLD   BOOK    AND    THE    NEW    CENTURY.  29 

living  men.  To  imitate  Christ  is  character:  to  follow 
in  his  steps  is  usefulness:  a  true  Christian  is,  as 
Alexander  Pope  said,  "  the  highest  style  of  man." 

VI.  As  to  the  Plot  of  the  Drama.  For  the  Book  is, 
indeed,  a  drama  with  a  purpose  running  through  it, 
clear,  progressive,  climacteric  as  the  theme  of  an 
Oratorio.  A  "thin  red  line"  begins  at  the  gateway 
of  Paradise,  where  the  first  altar  is  reared  and  the 
earth  is  stained  with  blood.  We  follow  it  through 
Chronicle  and  Psalm  and  Prophecy,  with  ever 
increasing  interest,  perceiving  more  and  more,  in  the 
light  of  multiplying  altars  and  watch-fires,  that  some 
supreme  event  approaches.  Suddenly  there  is  a  gush 
of  music  from  the  Judean  hills:  "  Glory  to  God  in 
the  highest;  peace  on  earth  and  good  will  among 
men!"  The  denouement  is  at  hand!  Yonder  on 
Calvary  the  Hope  of  Israel,  the  Desire  of  all  nations, 
is  dying  in  anguish,  bearing  the  world's  sin  in  his 
own  body  on  the  tree.  Then  another  burst  of  music 
from  the  heavenly  heights,  "Worthy  art  thou  to 
receive  honor  and  glory  and  power  and  dominion  for- 
ever and  ever,  for  thou  wast  slain  and  hast  redeemed 
us  by  thy  blood!  "  This  is  the  plot  of  the  tragedy; 
the  crimson  path  that  runs  from  Genesis  to  Finis. 

And  the  singular  fact  is  that  the  story  thus  related 
with  a  divine  picturesqueness  makes  a  personal  appeal 
to  every  man.  "  It  finds  me,"  said  Coleridge;  "  the 
Gospel  finds  me."  It  must  needs  be  so,  since  every 
man  is  conscious  of  sin,  of  a  certain  fearful  looking- 
for  of  judgment  and  of  a  desire  to  escape  the  threat- 
ened doom,  "  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved?  "  is  the 
cry  of  the  sin-cursed  race.  And  just  here  is  where 
the  Gospel  "  finds  us." 


3©     THE  OLD  BOOK  AND  THE  NEW  CENTURY. 

And,  let  it  be  said  with  all  possible  emphasis,  that 
here  the  Scriptural  plan  of  salvation  stands  alone  and 
solitary.  There  are  other  religions  and  other  phi- 
losophies which  undertake  to  solve  great  problems 
and  suggest  plans  of  right  living:  but  there  is  no 
religion  and  no  philosophy  outside  of  the  Scriptures 
which  suggests  a  rational  mode  of  escape  from  the 
guilty  past.  All  others  are  ineffectual  religions.  Not 
one  is  able  to  save  from  sin.  The  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  cleanses  us,  and  "without  the  shedding  of 
blood  there  is  no  remission  of  sin." 

VII.  And  what  shall  be  said,  finally,  as  to  the  Central 
Figure  of  this  Book  ?  Has  the  adverse  criticism  of  the 
century  robbed  us  of  Christ?  Nay;  he  remains,  our 
peerless  Lord!  His  name  is  "Wonderful."  Won- 
derful in  his  birth.  Wonderful  in  his  life, — a  life  con- 
densed in  the  brief  monograph,  "He  went  about 
doing  good."  Wonderful  in  his  death:  "If  the  life 
and  death  of  Socrates  were  those  of  a  sage,"  said 
Rousseau,  "  the  life  and  death  of  Jesus  are  those  of  a 
God."  And  wonderful  in  his  influence  through  all 
the  passing  years. 

A  "Hall  of  Fame"  has  recently  been  instituted 
in  connection  with  the  University  of  New  York,  and 
a  score  of  names  has  been  chosen  to  be  inscribed  on 
its  granite  columns.  Call  the  roster  and  then  call 
the  name  of  Jesus;  and  lo!  by  what  a  bridgeless  gulf 
is  he  separated  from  them  all! 

In  his  exile  Napoleon  said,  "  My  life  once  shone 
with  the  brilliance  of  a  diadem,  but  now,  who 
cares  for  me?  Caesar,  Alexander  and  I  dreamed  of 
universal  empire.  Caesar  and  Alexander,  where  are 
they?    And  I   shall   soon  be  forgotten.     But  Jesus 


THE    OLD    BOOK    AND    THE    NEW    CENTURY.  31 

died  eighteen  centuries  ago,  after  founding  an 
empire  upon  love,  and  at  this  hour  there  are  millions 
of  men  who  would  die  for  him."  It  is  true  that  the 
glory  of  his  name  increases  with  the  passing  centuries. 
The  voice  of  his  enemies  is  silenced;  and  his  praises 
are  sung  by  a  great  multitude  whose  voice  is  as  the 
sound  of  many  waters: 

All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name! 

Let  angels  prostrate  fall, 
Bring  forth  the  royal  diadem, 

And  crown  Him  Lord  of  all ! 

We  have  gone  round  about  the  citadel:  we  have 
canvassed  the  various  points  where  the  attack  has 
been  converged.  No  sign  of  weakness  appears.  The 
Old  Book  stands!  It  stands  like  Gibraltar  with  the 
wreck  of  hostile  fleets  scattered  at  its  base.  It  stands 
like  Eddystone,  despite  all  swirling  tides  and  buffet- 
ing storms,  casting  a  steady  light  over  the  broad 
seas.  The  Citadel  stands!  The  assaults  of  the 
enemy  have  not  breached  its  walls  from  without,  nor 
have  its  bolts  been  drawn  by  treachery  within.  The 
Citadel  stands,  and  over  it  floats  the  red  banner  of  the 
cross. 

A  hundred  years  ago  Lord  Chesterfield,  while 
visiting  Paris,  was  entertained  at  the  table  of  a  dis- 
tinguished lady  of  the  Encyclopedia,  a  bitter  foe  of 
Christianity.  She  said  to  him,  "My  lord,  I  am 
informed  that  your  English  Parliament  is  composed 
of  five  or  six  hundred  of  the  most  profound  and  bril- 
liant thinkers.  This  being  so,  will  you  explain  to 
me  how  it  is  that  under  their  authority  the  Bible  is 
still  recognized  in  the  legislation  of  your  country 
and    the  obsolete  religion  of  the  Nazarene  is   main- 


32  THE    OLD    BOOK    AND    THE    NEW    CENTURY. 

tained  as  the  State  religion?"  He  answered,  "Madam, 
this  is  a  mere  temporary  makeshift ;  we  are  casting 
about  for  something  better,  and  when  that  is  dis- 
covered, the  Bible  and  Christianity  must  give  way." 
The  world  has  been  casting  about,  during  all 
these  centuries,  for  something  better,  and  has  not 
found  it.  Undevout  thinkers  will  still  pursue  their 
quest;  and  kings  and  potentates  may  search  for  the 
new  religion,  as  they  have  hitherto  done,  by  the  light 
of  Smithfield  fires  and  autos-da-fe.  But  meanwhile 
men  and  women  will  go  on  loving  their  Bibles  and 
believing  in  Christ.  The  troubled  will  run  for  com- 
fort to  this  shelter,  and  sinners  will  search  the  Scrip- 
tures for  a  hope  of  salvation,  and  will  find  it  at  the 
cross.  The  weapon  has  not  yet  been  formed  that 
shall  prevail  against  the  impregnable  Word.  "All 
flesh  is  as  grass:  the  grass  withereth,  the  flower 
fadeth;  but  the  Word  of  our  God  shall  stand  for 
ever!  " 


THE  TRUTH-SEEKER 

"  I  applied  my  heart  to  know  and  to  search  and  to  seek  out  wisdom  and 
the  reason  of  things." — Ec.  7,  25. 

Truth  is  the  principal  thing.  It  cannot  be  valued 
with  the  gold  of  Ophir.  The  business  of  an  earnest 
life  is  to  find  it;  a  nobler  quest  than  that  of  the 
Argonauts  for  the  golden  fleece,  or  of  Arthur's 
Knights    for   the    Holy    Grail. 

The  old-time  world  was  propelled  by  the  sheer 
force  of  armies  and  exchequers.  Now,  knowledge  is 
power.  The  man  of  influence  has  put  off  chain- 
armor  and  clothed  himself  in  a  student's  garb.  The 
Overthrower  does  as  Shakespeare  said  he  would, — 

"  Comes  at  the  last,  and  with  a  little  pin 

Bores  through  his  castle-wall, — and  farewell  king!" 

A  new  leverage  has  been  found  for  the  uplifting 
of  the  world.  The  power  is  truth;  its  operator  is 
the  man  who  thinks.  He  has  crowded  physical 
strength  and  martial  prowess  from  all  the  highways, 
has  assumed  preeminence  among  men. 

All  the  world  knows  that  not  Victoria  but  Salis- 
bury is  the  colossal  figure  in  the  government  of 
Great  Britain.  Crowns  are  but  tawdry  relics.  The 
queen  is  the  carved  mermaid  on  the  ship's  prow,  but 

(33) 


34  THE  TRUTH-SEEKER. 

the  premier  holds  the  tiller.  The  "poor  wise  man  " 
who,  as  Solomon  says,  *'  delivered  the  little  city,"  is 
no  longer  forgotten.  The  thinkers  are  the  kings  of 
to-day. 

The  power  on  the  lever  that  lifts  the  world  is 
Truth.  All  truth  is  welcome ;  truth  in  art,  in  science, 
in  old  chronicles;  truth  of  intuition,  Scripture,  old 
red  sandstone,  encyclopedia;  sunlight,  moonlight, 
rushlight;  welcome  all! 

"More  light,"  cried  Goethe,  "Open  the  win- 
dows!" It  is  being  done.  Men  are  reading; 
readers  are  thinking;  the  schoolmaster  is  abroad; 
the  mind  of  the  people  is  pressing  hard  on  the  lever, 
and  the  world  is  being  lifted  every  day  further  into 
the  light. 

Thus  knowledge  has  come  to  be  not  power  only, 
but  honor  as  well.  After  Von  Humboldt's  death, 
his  gold  medals  were  found  lying  about  in  corners 
and  neglected  nooks,  while  pressed  leaves,  specimens 
of  ore  and  fossils  had  been  preserved  with  jealous 
care.  Of  how  little  moment  are  badges  and  decora- 
tions to  the  man  of  whom  it  may  be  said,  as  of 
Buddha,  "His  eyes  are  opened!"  The  price  of 
wisdom  is  above  rubies.  Its  laurels  will  be  green 
when  emeralds  are  dust. 

The  true  warriors  of  civilization  have  been 
meditative,  rather  than  martial  men.  Chaucer, 
John  Milton,  Burke,  and  Bolingbroke,  John  Bunyan, 
Addison,  Newton,  Ben  Franklin;  these  and  their 
kinsfolk  are  the  puissant  knights  whose  footfall 
will  be  longest  heard  along  the  thoroughfares  of 
progress. 

"Arms    and    the   man   I   sing,"      "Nay,"   says 


THE    TRUTH-SEEKER.  35 

Carlyle,  **  tools  and  the  man  is  the  epic  of  these  days." 
And  it  may  be  added  that,  not  the  man  wielding,  but 
the  man  welding,  is  the  central  figure.  The  inventor 
is  hero  of  the  epic.  Not  the  miner,  digging  in  the 
bowels  of  the  earth,  but  Sir  Humphrey  Davy  who 
made  mining  feasible  by  the  invention  of  the  safety- 
lamp,  is  "  the  man  "  we  sing.  The  power  is  not  in 
handicraft,  but  in  the  mind  within  and  over  it.  Who 
won  Sedan?  "Von  Moltke,"  says  the  schoolboy; 
but  further  on  he  will  answer,  "  Krupp,  the  spec- 
tacled dreamer,  who  invented  the  great  guns."  Who 
drives  the  ship?  Men  at  the  engines  or  before  the 
mast?  or  those  who  have  perfected  the  sailor's  art, 
constructed  his  nautical  tables,  and  traced  his  path- 
way through  the  deep? 

The  man  in  the  forefront  of  battle  and  the  artisan 
with  sleeves  rolled  up,  stand  out  most  clearly  in  the 
common  view;  but  the  propulsion  of  both  is  from 
silent  chambers  where  students  sit  toiling  by  mid- 
night lamps.  Who  remembers  or  cares  to  remember 
that  Cicero  and  Xenophon  and  Thucydides  were 
great  generals  in  their  day?  We  should  long  ago  have 
ceased  to  call  King  Alfred  "  the  Great,"  despite  his 
valorous  deeds,  had  he  not  established  a  perpetual  lien 
on  the  future  by  founding  the  University  of  Oxford. 

The  Truth-seeker  is  not  a  mere  book-worm;  not 
a  pedant;  not  an  apostle  of  "culture,"  not  such  a 
figure  as  Dr.  March  has  painted,  "armed  at  all 
points  with  glittering  generalities,  ready  to  bear  his 
part  in  a  discussion  of  everything  honorable  and  talk- 
able,  ashamed  not  to  know  when  everybody  died  and 
all  about  the  old  battles  of  the  kites  and  the  crows,  as 
Milton  says,  and  talking 


36  THE    TRUTH-SEEKER. 

'  Frensch  ful  fayre  and  fetysly 
After  the  scole  of  Stratford  atte  Bowe.'" 

Nay,  rather,  he  is  a  modest  lover  of  wisdom;  aspiring 
to  touch  the  reality  which  is  the  soul  of  things  mate- 
rial and  spiritual;  one  who  counts  himself  not  to 
hav^e  apprehended  but  eagerly,  hopefully  reaches 
forth;  ambitious  less  to  be  reckoned  sophos  than p/ii- 
losophos;  this  is  the  Thinker,  the  Truth-seeker  of 
to-day. 

I.  He  is,  wherever  you  find  him,  a  Pioneer  \  not  too 
loyal  to  old  landmarks,  willing  that  the  world  shall 
move  and  men   move  with  it;  willing  to  hear   men 

sing: 

"  Ring  out  the  old,  ring  in  the  new!" 

if  only  they  will  further  sing 

"  Ring  out  the  false,  ring  in  the  true!" 
The  needs  of   the   fathers   were   not    as    ours.     The 
manna  that  was  gathered  for  them,   left   over  until 
the  morning,  breeds  worms. 

.     .     .     "New  problems  arise, 
And  expansion  of  soul  on  a  lordlier  plan 
And  a  ceaseless  ennobling  of  life  and  of  creed; — 
For  the  endless  progression  of  thought  and  of  deed 
Is  the  crown  and  glory  of  man." 

The  Truth-seeker  must  boldly  sail  past  the  Pillars 
of  Hercules.  On  both  sides  of  Gibraltar  they  stood, 
bearing  on  their  formidable  fronts  the  legend,  "No 
more  beyond!  "  A  courageous  mariner  said,  "I  will 
see;  "  and  the  Pinta  sailed  out  upon  the  open  waters, 
prow  westward,  day  after  day,  until  at  length  yonder 
rose  the  palm-trees  of  San  Salvador! 

Ne plus  ultra?  Nay,  "the  beyond,"  is  illimitable. 
And  there  are  no  San  Salvadors  for  stay-at-homes.   An 


THE   TRUTH-SEEKER.  37 

over-faithfulness    to    the    past    is    like   that    Doubt, 
whereof  Shakespeare  said,  it 

'  .  .  .  makes  us  lose  the  good  we  oft  might  win 
By  fearing  to  attempt." 

The  Truth-seeker  must,  therefore,  be  an  adven- 
turer. There  are  five  boundless  worlds  waiting  for 
him  beyond  the  seas:  The  World  of  Books.  Twenty-five 
thousand  new  books  are  published  every  year.  What 
a  continent  for  a  man  to  lose  his  way  in!  Take  heed 
therefore.  If  "reading  maketh  a  full  man,"  as 
Bacon  said,  there  is  manifest  danger  of  surfeit  and 
dyspepsia. 

The  World  of  Events.  Two  good  eyes  are  of  more 
value  than  all  the  Bodleian  alcoves.  The  art  of  these 
days  is  Observation.  Surgeons  are  made  not  so 
much  in  lecture  rooms  as  in  clinics  and  hospitals, 
where  wounds  are  dressed  and  arteries  tied  up.  The 
weaver  knows  less  of  his  own  fabric  than  does  the 
bystander  who  patiently  observes  and  catches  the 
pattern  as  the  shuttle  flies. 

The  World  of  Nature.  The  wisest  geologists  are 
those  who  have  gazed  most  intently  on  the  pages  of 
"the  great  stone  book."  The  last  volume  written 
by  the  most  popular  of  modern  scientists  was  about 
earth-worms.  Do  you  remember  Kepler's  prayer, 
"I  thank  thee.  Father  of  the  Universe,  that  thou 
hast  filled  me  with  rapture  over  the  works  of  thy 
hand,  and  hast  permitted  me,  a  feeble  creature,  to 
think  thy  thoughts  after  thee"? 

The  World  of  Human  Nature.  Spurgeon  tells  of 
a  friend  with  whom  he  could  not  stop  five  minutes 
under  an  archway  without  learning  something.  It  is 
good  for  men  to  look  into  each  others  faces;  thus  our 


38  THE   TRUTH-SEEKER. 

best  faculties  are  whetted,  '*  as  iron  sharpeneth  iron." 
How  many  fail  for  want  of  tact  and  versatility  in 
dealing  with  men.  It  is  a  true  saying,  '*  The  proper 
study  of  mankind  is  man." 

The  World  of  Self.  This  is,  next  to  God,  the 
largest  of  the  boundless  worlds.  "Know  thyself"; 
thy  powers  and  weaknesses;  thy  solemn  responsibili- 
ties; the  potencies  of  good  and  evil  within  thee;  thy 
kinship  with  dust,  thy  Kingship  before  God. 

"  O  soul  of  man, 

Where'er  thou  art,  or  low  or  high, 
Thy  skyey  arches  with  exulting  span 
O'er-roof  infinity!" 

These  are  the  worlds,  waving  with  harvests  and 
rich  in  mines  of  virgin  gold,  that  invite  the  seeker 
after  truth. 

Bid  there  are  Barriers :  and  none  but  freebooters 
will  refuse  to  honor  the  chart.  Let  us  take  heed, 
adventurous  friends,  lest  as  we  joyously  pass  out 
between  the  Pillars  of  Hercules  we  become  mere 
rovers  of  the  sea.    * '  Be  bold ;  be  bold ;  be  not  too  bold. " 

There  are  certain  limitations  of  thought  which 
must  be  regarded.  "What,  then,  am  I  not  free?" 
Aye,  but  of  all  things  in  heaven  or  earth,  freedom  is 
most  circumscribed.  What  is  freedom?  Lawless- 
ness ?     Not  so;  it  is  perfect  obedience  to  perfect  law. 

The  freedom  of  the  thinker  is  over  all  the  thor- 
oughfares of  truth,  over  all  the  King's  highways. 
Error  is  wandering.  He  is  the  freeman  whom  the 
truth  makes  free.  He  is  emancipated  not  only  from 
the  bonds  of  ignorance  but  from  the  power  of  foolish 
fears;  and,  pursuing  truth,  he  enters  at  length  into  a 
divine  Res-publica,  a  large  and  wealthy  place  called 


THE    TRUTH-SEEKER.  39 

in  an  Old  Book,  "  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children 
of  God."  To  venture  beyond  the  province  of  a  sin- 
cere and  loyal  quest  of  truth  is  not  courage  but  fool- 
hardiness. 

"...  Prythee,  peace  ! 

I  dare  do  all  that  may  become  a  man; 

Who  dares  do  more  is  none." 

What  are  the  limitations,  then,  to  which  the  pro- 
gressive thinker  must  give  heed? 

First:  the  postulate  that  God  is  wiser  than  man. 
Canst  thou  by  searching  find  him  out?  It  is  his  glory 
to  conceal  a  thing.  Can  it  be  thought  that  the 
Infinite  will  unbosom  himself  to  a  finite  mind?  Canst 
thou  measure  the  seas  in  the  hollow  of  thy  hand? 
We  must  expect  to  be  baffled.  We  must  be  willing 
to  face  the  sphinx;  willing  to  consent  that  God  shall 

be  God. 

Second:  forasmuch  as  God  is  truth— its  center, 
its  fountain,  itself — whosoever  would  discover  truth 
must  look  God-ward.  In  His  light  only  can  we  see 
light.  This  holds  in  material  as  in  spiritual  things. 
Coleridge  was  as  a  blind  man  in  Chamouni  until  he 
heard  the  torrents  and  the  ice-plains ;  saw  the  flowers, 
the  eagles  and  the  lightnings;  discerned  the  signs 
and  wonders  of  the  elements— all  echoing  God.  The 
heart  of  science  is  theology.  What  a  hand  is  this, 
holding  the  hand  of  the  Seeker-after-truth!  Is  it  not 
the  part  of  supreme  folly  to  refuse  it  ? 

•'  Lead,  kindly  Light,  lead  thou  me  on  ! " 

Third:  there  are  fundamental  facts  which  must 
be  taken  for  granted.  There  are  axioms  of  science 
written  on  the  heavens,  on  the  rocks  and  blades  of 
grass.     There  are  axioms  of  philosophy,  intuitions, 


40  THE    TRUTH-SEEKER. 

written  on  the  tablets  of  the  universal  soul.  There 
are  axioms  of  spiritual  truth  written  in  the  pages  of 
the  revealed  Word;  all  of  them  bearing  the  sign 
manual,  ' '  Thus  saith  the  Lord. "  There  is  no  getting 
behind  these.  A  student  of  geometry  never  dreams 
of  demonstrating  that  "  Things  vi^hich  are  equal  to  the 
same  thing  are  equal  to  each  other."  Some  things 
must  be  taken  for  granted  or  we  have  no  outset. 
When  a  Truth-seeker  tries  to  prove  God,  eternity, 
immortality,  it  is  little  wonder  that  he  finds  himself 
in  wandering  mazes  lost. 

These  are  the  barriers,  then,  and  within  them  we 
pursue  our  quest.  Frank,  resolute,  adventurous,  we 
find  illimitable  worlds  before  us. 

II.  We  have  observed  that  the  Truth-seeker  must 
be  a  pioneer;  he  must  moreover  be  a  Dogmatist ;  or 
shall  we  capture  a  word  from  the  enemy  and  say 
"  Positivist  "  ?  For  if  the  trumpet  give  an  uncertain 
sound  who  shall  prepare  himself  to  the  battle?  These 
are  times  when  gases  are  condensed  into  crystals ;  life 
is  too  eager,  eventful  and  converged,  for  aught  but 
Yea  and  Amen. 

Why  do  men  prate  against  creeds?  What  is  a 
"creed?"  A  system  of  religious  principles;  as  nec- 
essary to  a  serious  life  as  political  principles  are  in 
the  forum  or  rules  of  business  in  the  market-place. 
What  is  a  creed?  A  system  of  truth  condensed;  a 
diamond  among  the  charcoals.  It  is  impossible  to 
think  well  without  formulating  thought.  The  axioms 
from  which  we  proceed  are  all  dogmas.  If  you  are  a 
Gnostic,  then  you  dogmatize  in  that  you  say,  "  We 
know."  But  suppose  you  are  an  Agnostic;  then 
your  philosophy  is  based  upon  the  obverse  dogma, 


THE    TRUTH-SEEKER.  4I 

"We  cannot  know."  Or,  it  may  be,  you  journey 
midway  along  the  golden  mean  of  Faith;  you  are  a 
dogmatist  still;  for  you  say,  "God  knows." 

All  great  thinkers  have  held  tenaciously  to  the 
fundamentals.  "Had  Athanasius  or  Augustine 
quietly  surrendered  the  vital  doctrines  for  which  they 
contended,  the  dark  shadow  of  Arius  or  Pelagius 
would  be  thrown  over  the  world  to-day."  It  is 
incumbent,  therefore,  on  sensible  people  to  stand  by 
the  landmarks  of  truth. 

Here  is  the  statement:  "I  believe."  Let  us 
analyze  it.  "I."  Why  not  we?  Because  all  true 
progress  is  toward  a  more  clearly  defined  individual- 
ism. Each  for  himself.  The  Orientals  saiy pisteuouien, 
"we  believe;  "  the  Occidentals  say  credo,  "  I  believe." 
And  just  there  is  the  divergence,  political  as  well  as 
religious,  between  the  eastern  and  western  races;  it 
is  the  difference  between  we  and  /.  In  the  Orient 
the  conservative  clutch  of  Kingcraft  holds  the  people 
en  masse  J  in  the  west  we  have  anatomy,  cleavage — 
the  crowd  is  painted  with  a  pre-Raphaelite  regard 
for  detail,  so  that  each  face  stands  out.  And  the 
world  is  moving  westward.  The  ego  will  not  be 
overlooked. 

In  the  ninth  volume  of  Bancroft's  United  States  we 
come  upon  this  passage:  "The  most  stupendous 
thought  that  ever  was  conceived  by  man,  such  as  had 
never  been  dared  by  Socrates  or  the  Academy,  by 
Aristotle  or  the  Stoics,  took  possession  of  Descartes 
in  his  meditations  on  a  November  night  on  the  banks 
of  the  Danube.  His  mind  separated  itself  from 
everything  besides,  and,  in  the  consciousness  of  its 
own     freedom,    stood    over     against    tradition,    all 


4^  THE    TRUTH-SEEKER. 

received  opinion,  all  knowledge,  all  existence  except 

itself,  thus  asserting  the  principle  of  Individuality  as 

the  key-note  of  all  coming  philosophy  and  political 

institutions.     Nothing  was  to  be  received  as  truth  by 

man    which    did    not   convince    his    reason.     A    new 

world  was  opened  up  in  which  every  man  was  to  be 

his  own  philosopher." 

And  that  is  the  world  we  are  living  in.     The  first 

and   greatest    commandment    is.    Think;    think    for 

yourself;     let    no    man    do    your    thinking    for   you. 

There  are  people   to-day  as   in  Cowper's   time,  who 

farm  out  their  thinking; 

"Crooked  or  straight,  through  quags  or  thorny  dells 
True  to  the  tinkling  of  their  leaders'  bells." 

But,  friends,  by  the  divine  franchise  of  your  man- 
hood, let  no  man,  or  body  of  men,  no  priest,  caucus 
or  sanhedrin  do  your  thinking  for  you.  Quit  you 
like  men! 

They  tell  us  that  the  pulpit  has  lost  influence  in 
these  days.  Say  rather  it  has  lost  authority;  for  its 
influence  waxes  as  its  authority  wanes.  The  same  is 
true  of  all  professions.  Physicians  are  losing 
authority;  they  can  no  longer  delude  men,  as  they 
did  in  the  time  of  Rome,  with  "  simples  out  of  green 
earthen  pots,"  since  patients  read  their  prescriptions 
on  the  way  to  the  apothecary's.  The  press  is  losing 
authority;  men  no  longer  con  their  newspapers  with 
a  blindfold  judgment.  They  keep  up  a  serious 
thinking  while  they  read,  and  draw  their  own  con- 
clusions. And  this  is  incomparably  better  than  the 
former  way.  Would  I  not  rather  preach  to  thinking 
men  who  can  apply  to  every  statement  an  acid  test? 
It  is  a  glorious  thing  to  be  a  teacher  now.     A  fore- 


THE   TRUTH-SEEKER.  43 

man  of  skilled  artisans  may  have  a  juster  pride  in  his 

vocation    than     the     most     exalted    taskmaster    in 

Pharaoh's  brick-kilns;  for  he  is  a  leader  among  men. 

I  ^'■believe''',  that  is,  I  have  gotten  hold  of  certain 

important  truths  whereof  I  may  say,  These  things  I 

know  and  live  by!     It  is   not  enough  that  we  should 

be  investigators.     "  Did  the  Almighty,"  said  Lessing, 

"holding  in  his  right  hand  7>?^///,and  in  his  left  hand 

Search  after  Truth,  deign  to  tender  me  the  one  I  might 

prefer,  in  all  humility  but  without  hesitation,  I  should 

request  Search  after  Truth."   On  that  a  recent  reviewer 

says,    "We    do    not   always    remember    that    these 

exulting  pinions  droop  at  last,  and  that  a  philosophy 

of  nescience  is   the   end  of  it.     Good  hunting  and  no 

game  taken  is  a  sorry  jest.     The  savor  of  the  venison 

is  needed  to  stir  us  to  repeat  the  chase." 

There  is  indeed  a  pleasure  in  pursuing,  but  there 
is  a  sweeter  and  intenser  one  in  having.  Every  such 
conquest  is  a  substantial  addition  to  our  manhood. 
We  are  stronger  for  it;  as  the  savage  chief  imagines 
that  the  strength  of  those  he  conquers  passes  into 
him.  If  we  are  ever  to  be  forceful  thinkers  it  must 
come  about  not  only  by  loving  truth  as  an  objective 
thing,  but  by  making  it  ours.  If  we  are  going  to 
uplift  the  world  we  must  have  a  pou-sto,  a  place  for 
the  fulcrum.  Guesses  will  not  answer;  dreams, 
speculations,  perhapses,  will  not  do.  A  rising  inflec- 
tion cuts  the  sinews  of  truth.  I  must  have  a  rock  for 
my  feet  and  two  strong  pillars  for  my  hands.  The 
rock  is  the  Divine  Word ;  the  two  pillars,  like  Jachin 
and  Boaz,  are  Faith  and  Reason.  Thus  based  and 
buttressed  I  shall  never  be  moved.  I  am  now  in  a 
position  to  dogmatize.      I  cannot  do  otherwise,  since 


44  THE    TRUTH-SEEKER. 

my  postulates  are  beyond  an  if.  I  cannot  say  "  per- 
adventure";  I  can  only  say  "Verily,  verily."  This 
is  dogmatism,  certainly;  but  it  is  the  dogmatism  of 
downright  truth,  of  straightforward  honesty. 

III.  But  the  Truth-seeker,  in  sympathy  with  prog- 
ress, must  also  be  a  Liberal.  He  must  be  logical 
enough  to  allow  every  other  man  to  dogmatize, 
as  well  as  he.  There  is  a  notion  abroad  that  "liber- 
alism "  consists  only  with  a  sort  of  moral  vacuity  or 
absence  of  conviction.  A  man  is  understood  to  be 
liberal  when  he  says,  "My  views  are  mere  opinions; 
so  are  yours ;  rather  than  quarrel,  let  us  give  them 
up."  Is  that  it?  God  forbid!  True  liberalism  speaks 
on  thiswise,  "  I  have  convictions;  so  have  you ;  we 
differ;  let  us  clasp  hands  and  agree  to  differ!  "  Thus 
we  keep  our  brotherhood  without  losing  our  manhood, 
which  I  conceive  to  be  the  better  way. 

It  is  puerile  to  hold  that  a  man  must  be  either  a 
sceptic  or  an  agnostic  in  order  to  keep  on  good  terms 
with  his  neighbors.  The  most  important  of  the 
intellectual  achievements  of  our  time  is  the  discovery 
of  the  liberalism  of  true  dogmatism;  that  is,  that 
men  must  not  be  expected  to  agree,  but  can  agree  to 
differ.  "  Ye  be  brethren ;  see  that  ye  fall  not  out  by 
the  way." 

Men  of  broad  culture  and  firm  convictions  are 
always  liberal;  it  is  the  small  men,  the  dilettanti,  who 
must  be  either  skeptical  or  belligerent.  The  more  a 
man  knows  the  more  willing  he  is  to  credit  other  men 
with  knowing  something.  The  true  Truth-seeker 
propagates  his  opinions  not  by  "  apostolic  blows  and 
knocks,"  but  by  the  use  of  the  expulsive  power  of 
truth.     This  is  the  genuine  Baconian  method.      "A 


THE    TRUTH-SEEKER.  45 

little  learning  is  a  dangerous  thing."  Ignorant  men 
are  credulous;  half-learned  men  are  sophomoric;  but 
those  who  drink  deeply  of  the  Pierian  spring  are 
magnanimously  tenacious  of  their  opinions;  they 
speak  with  authority  because  they  have  seen  truth 
and  handled  it.  All  but  five  of  the  signers  of  the 
Magna  Charta,  the  original  but  crude  symbol  of  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  freedom, — which  ignored  the  peo- 
ple, indicating  only  baronial  rights — affixed  their 
names  with  a  cross.  All  but  ten  of  the  signers  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  which  sets  forth 
human  equality  at  its  uttermost,  were  university- 
bred  men,  so  large-minded  as  to  be  at  once  dogmatic 
and  tolerant — tolerant  enough  to  say  dogmatically, 
"  All  men  are  created  free  and  equal  and  with  certain 
inalienable  rights."  It  is  such  sterling  convictions 
as  these  that  make  broad  men.  "  I  confess  to  you, 
my  daughter,"  wrote  Comte,  "that  my  philosophy 
dries  up  my  heart." 

I  commend  to  you,  therefore,  the  excellency  of 
that  word  Credo.  Believe  something;  believe  as 
much  as  you  can.  We  must  find  terra  fir^na,  some- 
how. If  doubt  be  ever  good,  it  is  only  good  as 
something  to  move  away  from;  a  stepping-stone  to 
truth. 

IV.  I  have  said  the  Truth-seeker  of  to-day 
must  be  a  Pioneer,  a  Dogmatist  and  a  Liberal ;  but 
more;  he  must  be  a  Philanthropist ;  as  Heine  says, 
"Not  a  dreamer  among  the  shadows,  but  a  man 
among  men."  For  ours  is  a  utilitarian  age.  We  are 
done  with  apologetics;  we  have  to  do  now  with 
dynamics.  Above  all  a  man  must  be  practical.  "If 
ye  know  these  things,  happy  are  ye  if  ye  do  them. " 


46  THE    TRUTH-SEEKER. 

Of  what  avails  your  hoarded  lore, 
Your  mimic  lispings  of  Hellenic  song, 
If  they  awake  not  in  the  soul 
Sweet  thoughts  that  sing  and  soar. 
And  echoes  brave  that  roll 
With  glad  resoundings;  stir  the  sluggish  heart 
To  raptured  sympathy. 
And  rash  resolves  that  hotly  start 
/  And  on  enchanted  ladders  climb 

To  monumental  deeds? 

What  is  your  learning  good  for?  Can  silver  held 
in  solution  buy  bread  for  the  hungry?  It  must  first 
be  precipitated,  moulded,  and  stamped  with  the 
superscription  of  the  king.  No  knowledge  is  worth 
the  getting  which  cannot  thus  be  paid  out,  quid  pro 
quo.  Locke  said,  *'The  business  of  education  is  not 
to  perfect  a  learner  in  all  the  sciences,  but  to  give 
him  such  knowledge  as  he  shall  stand  in  need  of 
during  the  course  of  common  life."  Lord  Bacon 
said,  "Crafty  men  condemn  studies;  simple  men 
admire  them;  wise  men  use  them."  In  other  words, 
the  only  true  science  is  applied  science. 

I  have  a  belief;  but  the  question  is,  what  is  my 
creed  good  for?  What  is  its  fruitage  in  my  walk  and 
conversation?  Some  say  the  Saxon  origin  of  * '  belief  " 
x^'-'-  by-lifian,'"''  \)!\2X\^,  what  we  live  by.  The  only  creed 
worth  having  is  one  with  a  heart  to  pity  and  hands 
to  help. 

The  cloisters  are  in  ruins.  The  Truth-seeker  of 
our  time  walks  along  the  busy  thoroughfares.  In 
the  Feudal  Ages,  when  the  people  were  perishing  of 
spiritual  hunger,  the  scholars  and  divines  dwelt  in 
monasteries,  poring  over  old  parchments,  illumi- 
nating missals  and  breviaries ;  or,  if  they  came  forth, 


THE   TRUTH-SEEKER.  47 

it  was  but  to  speculate  about  the  feathers  in  an 
angel's  wing,  or  to  soar  aimlessly  through  the  ether 
of  "free-will,  fixed  fate,  foreknowledge  absolute." 
The  age  will  have  no  more  of  this.  It  wants  vital 
truth ;  Jacob's  fare  for  his  journey — dates  and  parched 
corn. 

The  Thinker  is  called  on  to  make  his  influence 
felt,  manfully,  in  the  strenuous  world.  His  name, 
Abou  ben  Adhem,  is  writ  large  in  a  book  of  gold,  as 
"one  who  loves  his  fellow  men."  Culture  has  not 
always  been  philanthropic.  The  educated  Spartan 
was  one  who  could  hurl  the  discus  skilfully.  The 
educated  Athenian  was  one  whose  faculties  were 
ground  to  a  fine  edge  on  syllogisms  and  rhetorical 
technicalities.  The  educated  Persian  was  a  carver  of 
colossal  maxims  out  of  cold  granite.  No  room  for  a 
heart  anywhere !  But  the  man  of  liberal  accomplish- 
ments in  these  days  must  needs  be  a  Philanthropist. 
His  culture  begins  at  the  heart  and  works  outwardly, 
through  eyes  and  hands  and  feet. 

Self-culture  is  not  ultimate.  There  is,  indeed,  an 
intense  pleasure  in  study  for  study's  sake.  "  Not 
more  sublimely  sweeps  an  eagle  around  a  lofty  moun- 
tain-peak, hovering,  as  if  intoxicated  with  delight, 
over  the  vast  abyss  below,  than  circles  the  excited 
soul  of  a  noble  thinker,  in  the  full  equipoise  of  all 
its  powers  when  in  their  highest  state  of  exaltation, 
around  the  loftiest  summits  of  truth  that  are  visible 
to  mortal  eyes."  But,  if  this  be  all,  what  more  or 
better  is  it  than  the  passion  of  the  horse-leech? 

"  .     .     .     Unless  above  himself  he  can 
Erect  himself,  how  poor  a  thing  is  man  !  " 

Some  one  has  said,  "Diffusiveness  is  the  genius  of 


48  THE   TRUTH-SEEKER. 

Christianity."  Paul  puts  it  thus:  "But  to  do  good 
and  to  communicate,  forget  not. "  No  man  liveth  unto 
himself  and  no  man  dieth  unto  himself.  He  that 
would  be  greatest,  in  the  kingdom  of  thought  as  in 
the  kingdom  of  faith,  let  him  be  servant  of  all. 

But  there  is  something  higher  than  Philanthropy, 
to  wit,  The  fountain  of  it.  "  Let  us  love  one  another, 
for  love  is  of  God."  Our  creed  must  express  itself 
in  piety.  The  progressive  Truth-seeker  does  not 
wholly  magnify  his  office  unless  his  mind  is  open 
upward  to  the  Father  of  Lights.  His  name  is  Theo- 
philus;  and  God  is  in  all  his  thoughts.  There  are 
dreamers  about  us  who  say  like  Laplace,  "  Congratu- 
late me,  I  have  left  God  out  of  my  philosophy." 
Left  God  out!  Why,  friend,  what  is  your  sun-dial 
good  for  if  it  stands  in  perpetual  shadow? 

Will  you  have  astronomy  without  God?  No  voice 
from  the  singing  spheres;  no  sweet  influences  of  the 
Pleiades  or  golden-lipped  preaching  of  Arcturus  and 
his  sons!  Surely,  "the  undevout  astronomer  is 
mad."  Geology  without  God  ?  Nay,  his  footprints 
are  impressed  on  every  ledge  of  the  everlasting  hills! 
Botany  without  God?  when  every  grass  blade  is  a 
living  epistle  of  his  glory  and  every  blossom  a 
censer  full  of  incense  swinging  at  his  altar  ?  His- 
tory without  God  ?  Who  then  is  the  architect  of 
your  temple  ?  Or  Life  without  God  ?  Nay,  its 
chief  end  is  to  glorify  Him.  "Wist  ye  not,"  said 
the  Ideal  Man,  "that  I  must  be  about  my  Father's 
business? " 

V.  Thus,  finally,  the  Truth-seeker  must  be  a  Man 
of  God.  He  must  believe  in  him,  know  him,  adore 
and  love  him. 


THE   TRUTH-SEEKER.  49 

But  how  shall  he  become  acquainted  with  God? 
Through  his  Word,  which  is  the  revelation  of  his 
mind  and  will.  Blessed  be  his  name  for  the  old- 
fashioned  Book !  Better  far  be  one  of  those  humble 
folk  who  "just  know,  and  know  no  more,  their  Bible 
true "  than  the  wisest  of  the  philosophers  who 
renounce  and  deride  it.  The  Mohammedan  bases  all 
his  culture  on  the  Koran;  the  Hindu  on  the  Vedas. 
Their  thought  is  right.  What  shall  justly  displace 
or  supplant  God's  Oracles  in  the  curriculum  of  a 
Christian  civilization.  Lighthouses  are  no  better 
than  reefs,  if  their  lights  are  gone  out.  "  All  Scrip- 
ture is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profitable 
for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruc- 
tion in  righteousness;  that  the  man  of  God  maybe 
perfect,  thoroughly  furnished  unto  all  good  works." 
Thus  the  Truth-seeker  is  equipped  for  life  and  duty. 
It  was  a  sad  reproach  that  Jesus  administered  to  the 
instructors  of  his  time,  who  had  removed  the  Script- 
ures to  make  way  for  traditions  of  men;  "  Ye  have," 
he  said,  "taken  away  the  key  of  knowledge."  This 
Bible  is  the  key  that  opens  the  cabinet  of  truth. 
"  Tolle,  lege!  "  said  the  angel  to  Augustine.  "Search 
the  Scriptures,"  said  the  Truth  himself;  "  for  these 
are  they  which- testify  of  me." 

Thus  the  two  revelations  are  at  one;  the  Word 
written  and  the  Word  Incarnate.  Each  is  comple- 
mentary to  the  other.  Christ  walks  through  the  pages 
of  Scripture,  a  life-giving  Presence,  from  Genesis  to 
Finis.  We  sit  as  disciples  before  his  feet.  Very 
God !  The  only  perfect  Man  !  To  walk  in  his  foot- 
steps, doing  good,  is  our  noblest  ambition;  to  per- 
petuate his  beneficence  among  men  is  God's  sublimest 


50  THE    TRUTH-SEEKER. 

purpose  with  us;  **  to  make  manifest,"  as  Paul  says, 
borrowing  a  figure  from  the  custom  of  scattering 
perfumes  from  a  triumphal  chariot,  "  to  make  mani- 
fest through  us  the  savor  of  his  knowledge  in  every- 
place." 

Thus  we  complete  our  survey  of  the  Quest  of 
Truth — the  noblest  aim  in  life.     Ben  Jonson  wrote: 

"  Upon  her  head  she  wears  a  crown  of  stars, 
Through  which  her  Orient  hair  waves  to  her  waist, 
By  which  believing  mortals  hold  her  fast, 
And  in  those  golden  cords  are  carried  even 
Till  with  her  breath  she  blows  them  up  to  heaven." 

Let  us  remember  that,  through  all  the  years,  we 
are  never  more  than  prentice  hands.  This  that  we 
call  living  is  not  life.  We  stand  for  a  little,  as  on 
the  threshold,  knocking,  waiting,  till  by  the  fairest 
of  angels,  a  door  is  opened  and  the  glory  streams 
forth  upon   us.     Thus  at  length  we  enter  into  life.  . 

Our  search  for  wisdom  ends  in  the  presence  of 
Him  who  said,  "I  am  the  truth."  Wise  men  follow 
the  star  to  Bethlehem,  and  no  farther.  To  reject 
Christ  is  to  choose  the  way  of  Pilate,  who  scornfully 
protested,  "What  is  truth?"  To  accept  Him  is  to 
journey  in  the  path  that  shineth  more  and  more  unto 
the  perfect  day.  Here  we  see  through  a  glass  darkly, 
but  there  face  to  face.  '*  And  we  all  with  open  face 
beholding,  as  in  a  glass  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  shall 
be  changed  into  the  same  image,  from  glory  to  glory, 
as  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  " 


STANDARDS  OF  MEASUREMENT 

"  But  they,  measuring  themselves  by  themselves,  and  comparing  them- 
selves among  themselves,  are  not  wise."— 2  Cor.  10,  12. 

The  reference  is  to  a  coterie  of  self-righteous  peo- 
ple in  the  Corinthian  church  who  found  much  in 
themselves  to  admire  and  little  in  others.  They  had 
characterized  Paul  as  a  mere  letter-writer,  twitting 
him  on  his  physical  weakness  and  stammering  speech. 
His  reply  was  dignified  and  courteous,  though  sharp- 
ened here  and  there  to  a  fine  edge,  as  in  the  portion 
before  us;  "We  dare  not  make  ourselves  of  the 
number,  or  compare  ourselves  with  some  that  com- 
mend themselves;  but  they,  measuring  themselves 
by  themselves,  and  comparing  themselves  among 
themselves,  are  not  wise."  The  fault  here  referred 
to,  namely,  the  use  of  false  standards  in  moral 
mensuration,  is  one  prevalent  in  every  age. 

An  authoritative  standard  is  needed  for  our  guid- 
ance in  every  department  of  life.  In  the  present 
political  campaign  there  is  an  apparent  difference  of 
opinion  between  the  two  dominant  parties  as  to  the 
advantage  of  having  a  single  standard  of  currency: 
that  this  difference,  however,  is  merely  superficial, 
appears  from  the  fact  that  those  who  argue  in  the 
negative  still  insist  upon  a  fixed  ratio  of  sixteen  to 
one. 

(50 


52  STANDARDS    OF    MEASUREMENT. 

An  artist  adjusts  his  methods  to  the  canons  of  his 
art;  the  musician  follows  his  score;  the  sailor  con- 
sults his  chart  and  compass;  the  soldier  obeys  the 
rules  of  service  and  practices  the  manual  of  arms ;  the 
tailor  cuts  by  his  fashion-sheet;  a  merchant  weighs 
in  balances  adjusted  to  an  invariable  pound;  the 
farmer  plants  and  ploughs  by  the  signs  of  the  Zodiac; 
the  lawyer  conducts  his  case  according  to  his  digest; 
the  politician  appeals  to  such  historic  symbols  as 
Magna  Charta  and  the  Constitution;  aye,  even  the 
gravedigger  is  obedient  to  rule  and  plumbline.  It 
is  obvious  then,  that  a  just  standard  of  measurement, 
so  necessary  in  common  pursuits,  is  indispensable  in 
the  larger  province  of  moral  and  spiritual  affairs. 
We  cannot  play  fast  and  loose  in  things  that  involve 
our  destiny  to  endless  ages. 

I.  Let  us  begin  at  the  beginning,  with  our  con- 
ception of  God.  This  lies  at  the  foundation  of  all. 
Theology  is  the  science  of  all  sciences.  We  cannot 
live,  labor,  believe  or  achieve  without  God.  All  men 
are  searching  for  him.  "As  the  hart  panteth  after 
the  water  brooks,  so  panteth  my  soul  after  thee,  O 
God." 

But  what  is  the  usual  method  of  procedure  ?  The 
heathen  make  to  themselves  gods  after  their  own 
likeness.  Isaiah  describes  the  process:  "The  car- 
penter stretcheth  out  his  rule,  he  marketh  it  out  with 
a  line,  he  fitteth  it  with  planes,  he  marketh  it  out 
with  a  compass  and  maketh  it  after  the  figure  of  a 
man,  according  to  the  beauty  of  a  man.  He  falleth  down 
unto  it,  and  worshippeth  it  a"nd  prayeth  unto  it,  say- 
ing, '  Deliver  me,  for  thou  art  my  god !  ' "  And 
even  though  the  image  be  not  made  after  the  simili- 


STANDARDS    OF    MEASUREMENT.  53 

tude  of  a  man,  it  is  endowed  with  human  attributes. 
Thus  bugs  and  beasts  and  inanimate  things,  Nilus, 
the  crocodile  and  holy  scarabaeus,  are  made  to  deport 
themselves  like  men. 

The  Pantheon  of  Rome  was  constructed  after  the 
same  method.  Olympus  was  peopled  by  a  company 
of  very  human  gods.  Venus  was  a  drab.  Mercury  a 
common  thief,  Jupiter  and  Juno,  parents  of  the 
divine  assemblage,  were  no  better  than  they  ought  to 
be;  all  were  but  colossal  men  and  women,  endowed 
with  splendid  virtues  and  magnificent  vices.  The 
revels  of  the  Olympiad  were  like  those  of  patrician 
Rome;  the  merrymakers  being  mere  mortals  pro- 
jected on  the  skies. 

Here  is  the  universal  tendency.  We,  living  at 
the  high  noon  of  Gospel  light  and  privilege,  are  still 
inclined  to  fashion  gods  after  our  own  dimensions. 
Nor  is  this  unnatural.  The  sun  shines  for  all;  but 
nothing  fully  absorbs  it.  To  some  things  its  light 
rays  are  welcome,  to  others  its  heat  rays,  to  others 
still  its  actinic  rays.  To  the  regions  of  darkness,  the 
sun  is  light;  to  the  frozen  soil,  it  is  heat;  to  ani- 
mated nature,  it  is  energy.  In  like  manner  we  are 
all  disposed  to  receive  so  much  of  the  true  concep- 
tion of  God  as  suits  us.  The  Puritans  believed  in 
him  as  an  apotheosis  of  justice;  the  merryhearted 
Frenchmen  as  le  Bon  Dieu,  who  would  not  crush  a  fly 
to  save  a  world;  while  to  the  devout  mystic  he  is 
ineffable  Holiness.  The  result  is  infinite  variety; 
when,  in  point  of  fact,  there  can  be  but  a  single  God. 
The  universe  has  room  for  only  one,  since  he  filleth 
all  in  all. 

It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  our  method  of  measure- 


54  STANDARDS   OF    MEASUREMENT. 

ment  is  wrong.  A  traveller  on  the  summit  of  the 
Alps,  in  the  early  morning,  sees  what  seems  to  be  a 
mighty  specter  moving  along  the  tops  of  the  distant 
hills:  it  is,  indeed,  only  his  shadow  thrown  upon  the 
clouds.  Not  so  can  men  find  God.  He  is  more  than 
a  reflection  of  ourselves;  he  cannot  be  measured  by 
any  comparing  of  ourselves  among  ourselves.  His 
thoughts  are  not  as  our  thoughts;  his  ways  are  not  as 
our  ways.  Hence  his  reproof,  "Thou  thoughtest  I 
was  altogether  such  an  one  as  thou  art." 

Is  there,  then,  a  better  way?  Not  unless  God 
shall  reveal  himself.  Has  he  done  so?  It  is  claimed 
that  he  has,  in  his  Word.  The  plain  duty  of  every 
man  is,  therefore,  to  satisfy  himself  whether  or  no 
the  Scriptures  are  the  veritable  Word  of  God,  and,  if 
so,  to  accept  Him,  without  demur,  as  he  has  made 
himself  manifest  in  them. 

The  prayer  of  Moses  was  that  he  might  behold 
the  divine  glory.  And  the  Lord  said,  "Behold,  I 
will  put  thee  in  a  cleft  of  the  rock  and  will  cover  thee 
with  my  hand  while  I  pass  by,  and  I  will  proclaim 
the  name  of  the  Lord  before  thee."  It  is  thus  and 
thus  only  that  men  see  God.  They  must  be  willing 
to  hide  themselves,  to  put  away  all  mental  bias  and 
prejudice  and  take  Him  precisely  at  his  word.  Only 
so  shall  we  get  a  rounded  and  symmetrical  view  of 
the  one  true  God. 

II.  A  similar  instance  of  wrong  measurement  may 
be  seen  in  our  conception  of  the  Ideal  Man.  Such  an 
ideal  is  necessary,  in  order  that  we  may  know  char- 
acter and  have  something  to  live  up  to. 

One  method  of  procedure  is  by  combination.  It 
was   thus   that   Plato   secured    the   outlines   of    his 


*■  STANDARDS   OF    MEASUREMENT.  55 

Dikaios^  or  "just  man."  But,  obviously,  a  composite 
photograph  can  produce,  not  the  perfect,  but  only 
an  average  man. 

Or  we  may  formulate  an  ideal  by  selection.  This 
is  the  common  way.  There  is  probably  not  one 
among  us  who  has  not  in  mind  some  noble  person- 
age, a  dear  father  or  mother  perhaps,  who  serves  as 
our  exemplar.  But  this  course  is  open  to  the  objec- 
tion that  it  leads  inevitably  to  either  discouragement 
or  self-righteousness.  If  my  model  be  such  an  one 
as  John  Howard  or  Wilberforce,  or  the  saintly 
McCheyne  or  Rutherford,  I  am  sure  to  be  over- 
whelmed by  despair  in  my  vain  effort  to  emulate  him. 
On  the  other  hand  if  I  select  one  whose  character  is 
inferior  to  mine,  I  am  bound  to  form  an  exaggerated 
estimate  of  my  own  virtues.  It  is  a  proverb  that 
"  the  one-eyed  is  easily  king  among  the  blind. "  Thus 
the  Pharisee  prayed  in  himself;  "God,  I  thank  thee 
that  I  am  not  as  other  men  are!  I  thank  thee  that  I 
am  not  an  extortioner,  or  an  adulterer,  like  my 
neighbor  so-and-so!  I  thank  thee  that  I  am  not  even 
as  this  publican!  "  By  this  sort  of  measurement  we 
gain  the  comfort  of  an  extreme  self-satisfaction;  for, 
indeed,  there  is  only  one  man  in  the  world  who  can- 
not truthfully  say  that  he  is  better  than  some  other  man. 

And  for  such  self-satisfaction  there  is  no  ground  in 
reason.  Let  Sydney  Smith  speak:  "  Behold  the~ 
proud  man  ;  creature  of  a  span  high,  stalking  through 
infinite  space  in  all  the  grandeur  of  littleness! 
Perched  on  a  speck  of  the  universe,  every  wind  of 
heaven  strikes  into  his  blood  the  coldness  of  death; 
his  soul  floats  from  his  body  like  melody  from  the 
string;  day  and  night,  as  dust  on  the  wheel,  he  is 


56  STANDARDS   OF    MEASUREMENT. 

rolled  along  the  heavens,  through  a  labyrinth  of 
worlds,  and  all  the  creations  of  God  are  flaming 
above  and  beneath  him.  Is  this  a  creature  to  make 
himself  a  crown  of  glory,  to  deny  his  own  flesh  and 
mock  at  his  fellow?" 

A  grievous  error;  and  it  is  due  wholly  to  wrong 
\  ^measurement.  Other  men's  failures  can  never  save 
us,  and  other  men's  successes  should  never  appal  us. 
Nor  will  they  when  we  find  the  just  standard  by 
which  to  weigh  and  measure  ourselves  aright.  I 
shall  never  know  myself  by  comparison  with  others, 
nor  by  contrasting  myself  to-day  with  myself  yester- 
day. Where  then  is  the  true  standard?  Is  there 
anywhere  an  Ideal  Man? 

Yes:  it  has  pleased  God  to  reveal  a  Perfect  One. 
In  the  Man  of  Nazareth  we  behold  the  perfection  of 
manhood.  Ecce  Homo!  There  is  no  guile  in  his 
heart;  there  is  no  guile  on  his  lips.  Who  layeth  any- 
thing to  his  charge?  He  stands  solitary  and  alone; 
the  incomparable  One. 

He  who  measures  himself  by  the  stature  of  Jesus 
might  well  despair,  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  this 
Son  of  Man  is  also  Son  of  God  and  our  Saviour.  He 
came  to  live;  that  is,  to  show  among  men  what 
character  is  and  what  a  man  ought  to  be.  But  he 
came  to  die,  also;  and,  by  the  power  of  his  death,  he 
blots  out  the  sin  of  shortcoming  on  the  part  of  all 
who  sincerely  try  to  follow  him. 

And  here,  as  Paul  says,  "there  is  no  difference; 
we  all  come  short. "  No  man  lives  up  to  the  standard ; 
but  if  any  man  sin  we  have  an  Advocate  with  the 
Father  even  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous.  And  in  our 
life  of  earnest  effort  we,  slipping  and  stumbling  along 


STANDARDS   OF    MEASUREMENT.  57 

our  path,  Still  come  nearer  day  by  day  to  the  stature  of 
this  perfect  Man.  In  our  purpose  to  emulate  his  virtues, 
we  are  already  sons  of  God;  "audit  doth  not  yet 
appear  what  we  shall  be,  but  when  he  shall  appear 
we  shall  be  like  him;  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is." 

III.  We  turn  now  to  a  consideration  of  the  true 
standard  of  right  a?id  wrong.  The  average  man  is 
inclined  to  do  right,  but  he  must  have  a  reliable  rule 
of  conduct.      Where  shall  he  find  it? 

Can  tradition  afford  such  a  rule?  Is  it  enough 
for  a  man  to  do  as  his  fathers  did  before  him?  The 
rule  of  heredity,  when  brought  into  the  sphere  of 
ethics,  becomes  an  adamantine  chain.  There  is  many 
an  inebriate  who  justifies  his  shame  on  the  ground 
that  a  strain  of  alcoholism  runs  in  his  veins.  Let 
him  take  his  father's  decanter  off  his  own  sideboard, 
and  fight  an  up-to-date  battle  on  the  ground  of  per- 
sonal responsibility,  and  the  Lord  will  befriend  him. 
Every  man  must  answer  for  his  own  life  before  God. 

Is  it  safe,  then,  to  follow  fashion?  Shall  we  do 
as  others  do  and  go  with  the  multitude  to  do  evil? 
Fashion  is  a  fallacious  rule,  in  that  it  shifts  with 
shifting  time  and  circumstance.  There  are  some 
portions  of  Switzerland  where  goitres  are  so  much  in 
fashion  that  a  man  who  has  not  such  an  excrescence 
is  called  "goose-necked."  One  is  sure  to  go  wrong 
who  follows  the  precept,  "When  you  are  in  Paris,  do 
as  Parisians  do." 

Or  shall  we  follow  conscience  ?  If  we  cannot  find 
a  standard  by  "  comparing  ourselves  with  ourselves," 
shall  we  find  it  within  ourselves?  Nay;  it  is  not 
enough  to  be  "a  conscientious  man;"  since  con- 
science may  be  seared  by  habit  as  with  an  hot  iron. 


58  STANDARDS  OF  MEASUREMENT. 

It  may  be  twisted  out  of  its  normal  direction,  as  the 
magnetic  needle  is  deflected  by  the  iron  in  the  ship's 
hull.  Saul  of  Tarsus  persecuted  the  Christians  "in 
all  good  conscience."  Philip  the  Second  followed 
his  conscience  in  expressing  a  desire  to  ride  up  to  the 
bridle  in  Protestant  blood.  It  is  not  enough,  there- 
fore, to  follow  the  inward  voice. 

One  of  the  shibboleths  of  our  present  political 
campaign  is,  "Vote  as  you  pray."  This  also  is  falla- 
cious. Men  may  pray  wrong  and  often  do;  the  wish 
being  father  to  the  thought.  In  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion  there  were  praying  men  on  both  sides;  but 
there  was  only  one  right  side  to  either  pray  or  fight 
on.  Our  prayers  are  the  natural  expression  of 
desire.  "We  know  not  what  to  pray  for  as  we 
ought."  It  is  the  business  of  a  good  citizen  not  to 
vote  as  he  prays;  but  to  pray  right  and  to  vote  right, 
as  well. 

Where  is  the  standard,  then?  In  the  Word  of 
God.  If  any  of  you  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God 
who  giveth  to  all  men  liberally  and  upbraideth  not, 
and  it  shall  be  given  him."  One  of  the  offices  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  to  regulate  the  conscience.  The  object 
of  prayer  is  to  arrive  at  that  which  conscience  cannot 
give,  to  wit,  a  clear  expression  of  the  mind  of  God. 
Let  us  live,  labor  and  vote  not  as  we  pray,  but  as 
God,  in  answer  to  prayer,  enjoins  us.  Let  us  adjust 
our  lives  not  to  the  requirements  of  conscience,  but 
to  the  divine  law,  as  God  through  conscience  shall 
communicate  it.  His  word  is  ultimate;  and  he  is 
always  ready  to  speak  to   him  who  is  willing  to  hear. 

IV.  We  have  yet  to  consider  the  Rule  of  Service- 
All  right-thinking  men  and  women  are  desirous  of 


STANDARDS   OF    MEASUREMENT.  59 

making  the  world  a  better  place  to  live  in.  We 
hear  the  cry  for  help  on  every  hand.  How  shall 
we  answer  it?  What  can  we  do  for  the  army  of 
tramps;  for  the  idle  and  ignorant;  for  the  sick, 
the  weak-minded,  the  prisoner;  for  widows  and 
fatherless  ? 

We  get  together  in  Sociological  Conventions. 
We  collect  statistics,  compare  communities,  and 
measure  ourselves  among  ourselves.  We  plan  to 
build  schools  and  hospitals  and  reformatories.  We 
call  for  soup-kitchens,  employment  bureaus,  art 
exhibits,  entertainments,  university  settlements.  So 
far,  so  good;  but  all  this  falls  infinitely  short  of  the 
requirements  of  the  situation.  Our  measurement  of 
the  case  is  narrow  and  superficial.  We  are  treating 
man  purely  as  an  animal.  We  are  estimating  his 
needs  by  the  cry  of  our  fleshly  appetites.  He  is  hun- 
gry, let  us  feed  him!  He  shivers,  let  us  clothe  him! 
He  does  not  know  a  chromo  from  a  masterpiece  of 
Raphael;  let  us  cultivate  his  aesthetic  nature!  Is  man 
no  more  then,  than  a  stomach  and  the  appurte- 
nances thereunto?  Is  the  problem  of  his  welfare  to  be 
solved  by  the  argument  of  a  full  dinner  pail  and  an 
empty  coal  scuttle?  Is  physical  comfort  here  and 
now  the  sum  total  of  happiness? 

God  be  praised  for  all  that  is  being  done  to  alle- 
viate the  present  sufferings  of  the  poor  and  distressed ; 
but  the  Epicurean  tendency  of  current  sociological 
effort  is  greatly  to  be  deplored.  We  blame  the  sickly 
sentimentalism  of  women  who  carry  jellies  and  nose- 
gays to  Murderers'  Row;  but  what  better  is  this,  to 
supply  the  present  needs  of  the  suffering  and  ignore 
the    profounder   needs    of    their   spiritual    natures? 


6o  STANDARDS   OF    MEASUREMENT. 

"Let  US    eat    and    drink,"  said   Epicurus,    "for  to- 
morrow we  die." 

But  we  do  not  die  to-morrow;  we  live  forever. 
Man  is  more  than  an  animal;  he  is  a  son  of  God.  He 
was  created  in  the  divine  likeness,  and  has  before 
him  the  possibility  of  a  divine  heritage.  His  life 
here  is  but  an  handbreadth;  and,  however  sore  his 
afflictions  may  be,  they  "  endure  but  for  a  moment  " ; 
while  his  life  hereafter  stretches  on  through  the 
boundless  aeons  of  eternity. 

We  err,  therefore,  in  measuring  immortal  needs 
by  physical  standards.  We  err  in  seeking  to  meet  an 
eternal  need  by  betterment  of  temporal  conditions. 
Man  is  indeed  an  animal;  and  when  he  hungers  he 
must  eat  and  when  he  shivers  he  must  be  clothed. 
But  we  need  to  get  eternity  into  the  reckoning.  Our 
philosophy  must  take  in  the  endless  outlook;  "for 
what  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world 
and  lose  his  life?  " 

Is  there  anywhere  a  perfect  standard  of  such 
comprehensive  humanity, — a  standard  by  which  we 
may  measure  our  efforts  to  do  good  as  we  have 
opportunity  unto  all  men?  Is  there  a  deed  anywhere 
in  history  by  which  all  other  deeds  maybe  measured? 

Aye;  the  Cross  of  Christ.  Here  is  the  standard 
of  philanthropy.  The  Cross  stands  out  in  history 
as  a  divine  announcement  of  the  true  plan  for  the 
deliverance  of  the  whole  man.  It  saves  the  soul  by 
blotting  out  sin.  It  thus  disinfects  the  memory  of 
the  past;  and  it  glorifies  the  future  by  preparing  the 
soul  to  meet  God.  And  it  saves  the  body,  as  well. 
The  man  who  finds  salvation  in  Christ  is  certain  tp 
set  out  upon  a  holy  endeavor  to  quit  himself  like  a 


STANDARDS  OF  MEASUREMENT.  6t 

man.  Bring  him  to  Calvary,  and  you  insure  his 
temporal  as  well  as  his  spiritual  good.  He  is  no 
longer  content  with  base  pursuits  and  companion- 
ships; he  is  ashamed  of  his  rags,  and  covets  a  place 
to  earn  an  honest  livelihood.  His  whole  life  is  revo- 
lutionized by  a  vital  apprehension  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ. 

If  these  things  are  true,  any  effort  to  solve  the 
social  problem  without  Christ,  is  like  undertaking  to 
build  a  house  from  the  chimney  down. 

It  is  a  small  matter  to  feed  a  man  who  is  doomed 
to  the  gallows.  It  is  scarcely  worth  while  to  give 
Esau  a  mess  of  pottage  while  allowing  his  birthright 
to  go  by  default.  An  artist,  desiring  to  paint  a  pic- 
ture of  the  Prodigal's  Return,  engaged  a  tramp  to 
sit  as  his  model.  The  next  day  at  the  appointed 
hour  the  man  appeared  dressed  in  his  best.  His 
appearance  was  improved  but,  in  fact,  he  was  more 
worthless  than  ever,  being  unfitted  even  to  serve  as 
a  model  for  the  prodigal.  It  is  proposed  by  those 
who  are  engaged  in  philanthropic  effort,  in  some 
quarters,  to  treat  all  prodigal  sons  in  this  way;  to 
furnish  them  with  soap  and  water,  a  change  of 
clothes  and  something  to  eat,  and  leave  them  in  the 
far  country.  No!  No!  Get  your  prodigal  into  a 
mood  to  return  to  his  Father's  house;  once  there,  he 
shall  have  clothes  and  food  in  plenty,  sitting  at  his 
Father's  table  and  wearing  the  best  robe.  This  is 
the  method  of  the  philanthropic  Christ.  He  healed 
the  sick  and  alleviated  the  miseries  of  the  poor  and 
suffering,  always  pointing  them  to  the  higher  life  of 
reconciliation  with  God.  The  mind  that  was  in 
Christ  Jesus  should  be  also  in  us. 


6s  STANDARDS  OF  MEASUREMENT. 

Hear,  then,  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter: 
Self  must  be  eliminated  from  our  moral  judgments. 
Let  us  cease  measuring  ourselves  by  ourselves  and 
comparing  ourselves  among  ourselves.  The  sculptor 
who  carved  his  name  upon  an  inner  fold  of  the  gar- 
ment of  Athens  was  condemned  to  die  for  his  pre- 
sumption. Self  must  not  be  obtruded  into  our 
estimates  of  spiritual  things.  We  must  get  back  to 
God,  to  his  revelation  of  himself,  to  his  conception 
of  manhood  as  set  forth  in  the  ideal  Man,  to  the  rule 
of  ethics  contained  in  his  perfect  law,  to  the  pattern 
of  philanthropy  set  for  us  in  the  heroic  self-sacrifice 
of  the  cross.  Back  to  God !  When  he  speaks  let 
every  man  stand  with  finger  on  lip.  His  word  is 
ultimate.  All  standards  are  wrong  except  such  as 
proceed  from  him.  If  we  would  win  an  ultimate 
success  in  the  great  business  of  life,  we  must  weigh 
all  things  in  the  golden  balances  of  the  sanctuary, 
"bringing  into  captivity  every  thought  to  the  obedi- 
ence of  Christ." 


BUSINESS 

"  And  he  said  unto  them,  How  is  it  that  ye  sought  me  ?      Wist  ye  not  that 
I  must  be  about  my  Father's  business  ?  "    Luke  2,  49. 

There  is  a  familiar  proverb,  "Business  is  busi- 
ness," which  I  suppose  is  another  way  of  saying 
that  Whatever  is  worth  doing  is  worth  doing  well. 
A  man  without  an  occupation  is  a  cumberer  of  the 
ground;  he  is,  as  somebody  has  observed,  "no 
better  than  a  dead  man  and  takes  up  more  room." 

It  was  an  appropriate  inquiry  which  Pharaoh, 
looking  to  the  welfare  of  his  kingdom,  propounded 
to  Jacob  and  his  family  on  their  entrance  into  Egypt; 
"  What  is  your  occupation  ?  "  And  it  was  fortunate 
for  them  that  they  were  able  to  give  a  categorical 
answer  :      "  Thy  servants  are  shepherds." 

It  is  probable  that  Jonah  would  not  have  fared  so 
ill  at  the  hands  of  the  Phoenician  sailors  had  he  been 
able  to  give  a  straightforward  answer  to  their  ques- 
tion, "What  is  thine  occupation?"  Poor  prophet, 
recreant  to  duty!  he  could  only  say  evasively,  "  I  am 
an  Hebrew  and  I  fear  Jehovah."  He  had  unfortu- 
nately, just  then,  nothing  to  do. 

If  the  Man  of  Nazareth  had  been  asked,  "  What 
is  your  business  ?  "  though  the  implements  of  his 
craft  were  on  the  bench  before  him  and  chips  and 
shavings    around  his   feet,  he  would  not  have  said, 

(63) 


64  BUSINESS, 

"My  business  is  carpentry";  but  rather,  "I  am 
indeed  a  carpenter  by  trade,  but  this  is  merely  inci- 
dental to  my  great  purpose.  My  business  is  to  finish 
the  work  which  my  Father  has  given  me  to  do, 
namely,  to  save  the  world  from  sin." 

And  the  Christian  should  be  able  to  speak  after 
the  same  manner.  It  goes  without  saying  that  he 
has  a  trade  or  profession  of  some  sort  by  which  he 
earns  an  honest  livelihood,  but  whether  he  be  mer- 
chant or  blacksmith,  artist  or  counselor,  butcher  or 
baker  or  candlestick-maker,  in  every  case  he  must  still 
be  ready  to  say,  "My  business  is  to  cooperate  with 
God  in  his  great  enterprise  of  salvation  "  ;  for  did 
not  his  Lord  and  Master  say,  "  As  the  Father  hath 
sent  me  into  the  world,  so  send  I  you  "  ?  This  was 
the  purport  of  William  Carey's  reply  to  Sydney 
Smith,  who  spoke  of  him  derisively  as  a  "consecrated 
cobbler,"  "I  cobble  shoes  for  a  living,"  said  he, 
"but  my  business  is  to  serve  Christ  as  a  fisher  of 
men." 

If  this,  then,  is  our  real  occupation,  as  followers 
of  Jesus  Christ,  it  is  obvious  that,  in  order  to  success 
and  ultimate  reward,  we  should  address  ourselves  to 
it  in  a  business-like  way.  And  two  things  are  neces- 
sary at  the  outset  :  First,  we  should  understand  the 
relation  of  this  concern  to  other  affairs.  It  must  take 
preeminence  and  precedence  of  all.  It  is  recorded 
that  when  Jesus  told  his  parents  that  he  must  be 
about  his  Father's  business,  "they  understood  not." 
Alas,  it  is  difficult  for  any  of  us  to  apprehend  this 
fact,  that  the  service  of  the  Kingdom  is  beyond  and 
above  all  bread-and-butter  work.  We  invest  the  sum 
and   substance   of   our   time   and   energy  in  secular 


BUSINESS.  65 

affairs,  and  put  God  off  with  what  Shalcespeare  calls 
"our  superflux."  We  tire  ourselves  out  in  secular 
labor,  and  excuse  ourselves  from  the  larger  duties  of 
the  spiritual  life  on  the  ground  of  weariness.  But 
crippled  lambs  and  yoke-worn  bullocks  are  not  for 
God's  altar.  The  injunction  is,  "Seek  ye  first  the 
kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness  and  all  neces- 
sary things  will  be  added  unto  you." 

The  other  prerequisite  to  success  in  religious  work 
is  an  understanding  of  our  personal  relation  to  the  King- 
dom. We  have  much  to  say  about  the  Church  ;  the 
poor,  backsliding  Church  ;  the  indolent,  recreant 
Church.  O  let  the  church  alone  and  look  to  your- 
self! The  Church  is  only  what  you  and  I  and  its 
other  members  make  it.  The  great  difficulty  is  to 
detach  the  ego  from  the  mass.  There  is  gold  enough 
in  the  Klondike  to  enrich  all  seekers,  but  to  get  one's 
individual  portion  out  of  the  hills,  hoc  opus,  hie  labor 
est!  We  are  too  willing  to  serve  the  Lord  by  proxy, 
A  student  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Andover, 
having  purchased  a  cord  of  wood,  came  to  Moses 
Stuart  to  inquire  whom  he  could  get  to  saw  it.  The 
old  professor  said,  "  I  happen  to  be  out  of  a  job  of 
that  sort  just  now;  I'll  saw  it  for  you."  A  man  who 
would  succeed  in  husbandry  must  hold  his  own 
plough-handles.  The  Christian  who  cares  for  his 
Master's  "Well  done,"  should  give  his  personal 
attention  to  the  work  assigned  to  him.  You  cannot 
farm  out  your  responsibility  to  the  minister  and 
elders.  The  shibboleth  by  which  the  Church  will 
conquer  the  world  is,  "All  at  it,  always  at  it,  alto- 
gether at  it." 

Now,  with  a  clear  understanding   of   the  relation 


66  BUSINESS. 

of  our  spiritual  work  to  all  other  pursuits,  and  of  our 
individual  relation  to  that  work,  it  remains  to  apply 
certain  rules  and  precepts  which  are  familiar  in  the 
common  affairs  of  life.  For  the  Lord's  business  is  no 
less  business  than  any  other.  And,  I  repeat,  if  we  are 
to  succeed  in  this  business,  it  will  be  because  we  address 
ourselves  to  it  in  a  business-like  way.  Let  us,  then, 
observe  the  maxims  which  apply  in  common  industry. 
First. — Be  prompt.  At  the  ringing  of  the  bell  in 
a  factory  village,  the  streets  are  full  of  operatives,  all 
expecting  to  be  in  their  place  as  a  matter  of  course, 
at  the  instant  when  the  power  is  turned  on.  How  is 
it  when  the  church  bell  rings  ?  Are  the  servants  of 
Christ,  who  profess  to  be  working  for  an  incorrupti- 
ble crown,  as  prompt  to  heed  the  summons  as  those 
who  labor  for  a  day's  paltry  wage  ?  Alas,  an  over- 
cast sky  will  oftentimes  keep  an  able-bodied  man 
from  attendance  upon  the  house  of  God!  The  diffi- 
culty of  obtaining  a  quorum  in  the  meetings  of  Mis- 
sionary Boards  or  Committees  on  Religious  Work  is 
proverbial.  There  is  no  such  difficulty  in  securing  a 
quorum  of  Bank  Directors  or  members  of  a  political 
junta.  There  is  always  a  quorum  in  the  workshop, 
always  a  quorum  in  the  army  or  the  jury-room. 
There  the  necessity  of  promptness  is  recognized. 
But  why  not  in  the  church?  Is  "  the  glorious  liberty 
of  the  children  of  God,"  a  mere  license  to  go  as  one 
pleases?  Why  should  the  Sunday-school  teacher 
play  fast  and  loose  with  his  responsibility?  Why 
should  the  prayer-meeting  be  so  thinly  attended? 
Why  should  the  mood  of  the  secular  world  be  so 
Imperative  and  that  of  the  religious  world  so  Sub- 
junctive?    Surely  this  is  not  "business." 


BUSINESS.  67 

Second. — Be  Enthusiastic.  The  men  who  win  in 
the  market-place  are  those  who  are  in  dead  earnest. 
Let  the  Christian  be  half  as  eager  in  the  affairs  of 
the  Kingdom  as  are  brokers  and  politicians  in  their 
business,  and  he  is  sure  to  be  called  a  fanatic.  But 
what  then?  Was  it  not  written  of  Christ,  "The  zeal 
of  thy  house  hath  eaten  me  up?  "  On  one  occasion 
his  disciples,  returning  from  the  city  of  Sychar,  where 
they  had  gone  to  buy  food,  found  him  speaking  with 
a  woman  of  the  town  concerning  the  welfare  of  her 
soul  ;  and  when  they  said,  "Master,  eat,"  he  replied, 
"  My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  him  that  sent  me  and 
to  finish  his  work."  He  is  the  best  Christian  who, 
in  his  enthusiasm  for  service,  can  thus  forget  even  the 
pangs  of  hunger.  So  earnestly  did  Paul,  loaded  with 
chains  in  the  judgment  hall  of  Caesarea,  press  the 
claims  of  the  gospel  upon  his  judges,  that  Festus 
was  moved  to  cry  with  a  loud  voice,  "Paul,  thou 
art  beside  thyself  ;  much  learning  doth  make  thee 
mad!"  Unfortunately  such  madness  is  rare  among 
Christian  people.  We  profess  to  believe  that  sinners 
without  Christ  are  in  danger  of  hell,  and  yet  how 
indifferent  we  are!  Is  it  strange  that  the  w^orld 
doubts  our  sincerity?  We  are  appointed  to  be  fishers 
of  men  ;  but  good  fishermen  do  not  sit  idling  on  the 
shore  when  the  call  is  heard,  "Let  down  your  nets!  " 
This  also  is  not  "  business." 

Third. — Be  in  Haste.  The  King's  business 
requireth  haste.  In  the  time  of  Henry  VIII.  all 
letters  bore  the  picture  of  a  post-boy  swinging  from 
a  gallows-tree,  with  the  legend,  "Haste,  Post,  haste 
for  thy  life!  "  We  are  appointed  to  carry  a  message 
of    tremendous  import,    and  there  is  no  excuse  for 


63  BUSINESS. 

loitering  by  the  way.  On  the  last  visit  of  Mr.  Moody 
to  London,  there  were  among  his  converts  two 
brothers  who,  having  found  the  Way,  immediately 
consulted  as  to  a  third  brother  in  Queenstown.  To 
him  they  forthwith  despatched  a  message  :  "Come 
at  once  ;  business  of  great  importance."  And  when 
he  came,  they  gave  him  no  peace  until  he  also  had 
accepted  the  overtures  of  God's  mercy.  This  is 
"business." 

Fourth. — Be  Deliberate.  Deliberation  is  quite  con- 
sistent with  haste.  John  Wesley  was  accustomed  to 
say,  "  Let  me  be  ever  in  haste  but  never  in  a  hurry. " 
We  may  learn  a  lesson  from  our  Fire  Department. 
With  what  desperate  speed  the  great  horses  plunge 
along  our  thoroughfares  to  answer  the  alarm  ;  but, 
once  at  their  destination,  how  careful  the  firemen  are 
in  adjusting  the  hose  and  placing  the  ladders.  No 
time  is  lost,  but  there  is  no  precipitation.  Property 
is  in  danger,  lives  are  at  stake  :  all  the  more  need  for 
carefulness. 

Take  time  to  pray,  my  friend.  Let  no  complica- 
tion of  duties  at  the  shop  or  office  tempt  you  to 
slight  the  summons  of  the  mercy-seat.  Take  time 
to  read  your  Bible,  and  study  it.  Take  time  to  get 
ready,  prayerfully,  carefully,  for  every  duty.  Our 
Lord  lived  at  Nazareth  in  such  retirement  for  thirty 
years  that  we  have  but  a  single  glimpse  into  that 
formative  period  of  his  life,  and  then,  at  twelve  years 
of  age,  we  find  him  saying,  "Wist  ye  not  that  I  must 
be  about  my  Father's  business?  "  He  patiently  toiled 
on,  in  his  carpenter  shop,  waiting  for  the  fulness  of 
time.  We  gain  nothing  by  impetuosity.  The  matter 
in  hand  is  of  such  importance  that,  while  wasting  no 


BUSINESS.  69 

time  and  losing  no  opportunity,  we  can  afford  to  be 
accurate,  deliberate,  patient.  This  is  "business"; 
and  success  is  the  guerdon  of  those  who  proceed  in 
this  way. 

Fifth. — Be  Practical.  Voltaire  said  of  his  friend, 
LaHarpe,  "  He  is  like  an  oven,  always  hot  and  never 
cooking  anything. "  A  castle  in  the  air  is  a  poor 
dwelling  and  a  still  poorer  shop.  We  dream  dreams 
and  see  visions  and  have  splendid  purposes  which 
we  propose  to  carry  out  to-morrow  ;  and  to-morrow 
never  comes  and  our  hopes  and  purposes  vanish  into 
thin  air.  Of  all  things  in  the  world  religion  should 
be  most  practical,  since  it  has  to  do  most  closely  with 
the  actualities  of  life.  Of  all  preachers  living  or 
dead,  none  ever  used  so  much  of  plain  common 
sense  as  did  Jesus  Christ  in  his  discourses.  Let  us 
imitate  him.  Do  noble  things,  not  dream  them  all 
day  long. 

"  Are  you  in  earnest  ?    Seize  this  very  minute  ! 
What  you  can  do,  or  dream  you  can,  begin  it." 

Sixth. — Be  Progressive.  It  is  a  familiar  saying 
that  a  successful  man  is  never  satisfied.  He  stretches 
out  Briarean  hands  for  more.  The  last  man  in  the 
world  to  be  satisfied  should  be  the  follower  of 
Christ  ;  there  is  so  much  before  him.  Such  vast 
possibilities  of  spiritual  growth!  So  many  open 
doors  for  service!  So  far  to  go  before  he  reaches 
the  end  of  life's  noble  purpose  and  aspiration. 
Wherefore  let  him  see  that  each  day  is  a  day  of 
progress. 

"  Count  that  day  lost  whose  low  descending  sun, 
Views  from  thy  hand  no  worthy  action  done." 


70  BUSINESS. 

Add!  Add!  "Add  to  your  faith  virtue,  and  to 
virtue  knowledge,  and  to  knowledge  temperance, 
and  to  temperance  patience,  and  to  patience  godli- 
ness, and  to  godliness  brotherly  kindness,  and  to 
brotherly  kindness  charity."  Keep  adding  ever  ;  for 
to  him  that  hath,  shall  be  given.  Do  the  next  thing 
better  than  the  last,  since  practice  makes  perfect. 
Aim  at  promotion;  for  while  there  is  much  jostling 
among  minimum  Christians,  there  is  abundance  of 
room  at  the  top.  Be  faithful  in  the  least,  hoping  for 
the  sovereignty  of  ten  cities.  The  Rabbis  say  that 
an  angel  came  to  Methuselah,  commanding  him  to 
build  an  house  for  himself,  since  he  had  five  hundred 
years  to  live  :  to  which  he  answered,  "  If  I  am  to  live 
only  five  hundred  years,  it  is  scarcely  worth  while  to 
build  me  a  house."  Alas,  that  so  many  of  us  should 
be  willing  to  abide  in  tents,  for  lack  of  ambition  to 
build  better.  Move  on,  my  friend  ;  move  up  in 
the  Christian  life.  Be  a  better  man  to-morrow  than 
to-day. 

Seventh  and  finally. — Be  Persistent.  Hold  on,  hold 
fast,  hold  out!  Let  no  discouragements  dishearten 
you.  Have  faith  in  Christ  and  in  the  triumph  of  his 
Gospel.  We  must  believe  in  our  work  if  we  would 
succeed  in  it.  Faith  is  the  mother  of  patience. 
When  Sir  Christopher  Wren  was  a  lad,  the  doctors 
said  he  could  never  live  to  grow  up.  But  he  had 
conceived  the  thought  of  a  splendid  cathedral.  In 
his  young  imagination  he  saw  the  fabric  completed  ; 
its  lofty  pillars  in  place,  its  mighty  arches  sprung. 
And  he  could  not  die  until  he  had  realized  his  pur- 
pose. For  thirty-five  years  his  frail  body  subsisted 
on  hope;  and  when  at  length  St.  Paul's  was  finished, 


BUSINESS.  71 

he  was  ready  to  go.  This  is  to  live  ;  to  set  one's  face 
steadfastly  toward  the  consummation  of  high  pur- 
pose, until  one  may  say,  like  Christ,  *'It  is  finished!" 
Blessed  is  the  man  who  can  thus  conclude  his  auto- 
biography, "I  have  finished  the  work  which  thou 
gavest me  to  do." 

This  is  success  ;  all  else  is  failure.  The  final 
reward  of  faithfulness  in  this  real  "  business  "  of  life 
is  promotion;  that  is,  more  of  the  Lord's  business  to 
do.  We  enter  heaven  at  the  Master's  call,  "  Come  up 
higher!  Thou  hast  been  faithful  in  a  few  things,  I 
will  make  thee  ruler  over  many  things."  Are  we 
worthy  ?  If  a  workman  in  your  employ  were  to  leave 
you  to-morrow  in  search  of  a  better  position,  he 
would  of  a  certainty  ask  you  for  a  "reference,"  and 
would  deem  himself  unfortunate  if  you  could  not  say 
something  to  this  efifect:  *'  To  whom  it  may  concern: 
The  bearer  has  served  me  faithfully  and  I  cordially 
commend  him  as  a  capable,  industrious  and  trust- 
worthy man." 

The  time  is  coming  when  we  must  all  pass  from 
this  present  sphere  of  usefulness  to  another  further 
on.  Has  our  service  been  such  that  our  Master  can 
count  us  worthy  of  promotion  to  the  larger  tasks  and 
responsibilities  of  the  heavenly  life  ?  We  are  inden- 
tured to  serve  him  loyally  and  industriously  here  and 
now.  The  future  depends  on  his  commendation. 
What  can  he  say  for  us  ? 


GOOD  WORKS 

"And  behold,  I  come  quickly;  and  my  reward  is  with  me,  to  give  unto 
every  man  according  as  his  work  shall  be." — Rev.  22,  12. 

The  early  Christians,  in  the  midst  of  constant 
danger  and  suffering,  were  sustained  by  the  hope  of 
Christ's  return  to  reign  in  righteousness.  Their  morn- 
ing salutation  was  "  Maranatha!  Our  Lord  cometh!  " 
It  is  natural,  perhaps,  that  in  these  piping  times  of 
peace,  less  emphasis  should  be  placed  upon  this  truth ; 
but  blessed  now  and  always  are  those  "  who  love  his 
appearing." 

In  that  day  the  Lord  shall  sit  upon  a  throne  of 
judgment  and  separate  the  assembled  multitude,  as 
a  shepherd  divideth  the  sheep  from  the  goats.  To 
those  on  the  left  hand  he  will  mete  out  retribution, 
and  to  those  on  the  right  rewards,  "according  to  the 
deeds  done  in  the  body."  Each  shall  receive  "accord- 
ing as  his  work  shall  be." 

In  view  of  this  fact,  it  is  of  the  utmost  import- 
ance that  we  should  know  what  sort  of  work  is 
esteemed  worthy  in  his  sight.  It  is  to  be  feared 
that  in  our  aversion  to  the  ceremonial  legalism  of  the 
Romish  Church,  we  have  minimized  the  importance 
of  good  works  in  the  economy  of  the  spiritual  life. 

In  addressing  ourselves  to  this  matter  we  must 
first  have  a  definition.      IV/ial  are  good  works  ?    Not 

(72) 


GOOD    WORKS.  73 

such  as  are  wrought  in  mere  conformity  to  the  Moral 
Law;  for  though  retribution  is  dealt  out  for  trans- 
gression, there  is  obviously  no  reward  for  obedience; 
since  he  who  obe.ys  perfectly,  does  only  what,  in  rea- 
son, is  expected  of  him  (see  Luke  17,  10).  Nor  are 
good  works  such  as  proceed  from  mere  emotion, 
from  sensuous  impressions  and  impulses;  else  we 
should  confer  the  service  chevron  on  a  tigress  that 
fights  to  the  death  in  defense  of  her  cubs. 

We  are  not  left  to  frame  a  definition  for  ourselves, 
Christ  himself  having  spoken  with  authority.  "  As 
he  sat  at  meat  in  the  house  of  Simon  the  leper  there 
came  a  woman  having  an  alabaster  box  of  ointment 
very  precious;  and  she  brake  the  box  and  poured  it 
on  his  head.  And  there  were  some  that  had  indig- 
nation within  themselves  and  said,  'Wherefore  was 
this  waste  of  the  ointment  made?  '  And  Jesus  said 
'  Let  her  alone;  why  trouble  ye  her?  She  hath  wrought 
a  good  work  on  vie. 

A  "good  work"  then,  from  the  standpoint  of 
Christ,  our  final  Judge  and  Arbiter,  is  such  as  has  for  ^ 
its  motive  a  sincere  devotion  to  him.  It  proceeds 
from  a  sense  of  gratitude  for  his  loving  kindness,  and 
it  terminates  on  him.  It  is  wrought  "  for  Jesus'  sake. " 
This  will  be  made  apparent  by  a  further  considera- 
tion of  certain  facts. 

I.  We  are  saved  by  faith.  This  is  the  testimony  of 
Scripture:  "By  the  deeds  of  the  law  shall  no  flesh  be 
justified  " ;  and,  per  contra,  "  He  that  believeth  on  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  shall  be  saved."  The  faith  here 
referred  to  is  a  receptive  grace;  it  is  the  will  reaching 
forth,  like  a  hand,  to  receive  the  proffer  of  life.  At 
this  point  no  merit  is  possible  on  the  part  of  any  man. 


74  GOOD    WORKS. 

All  are  equally  undeserving  and  the  best  that  any  can 
do  is  to  take  the  cup  of  salvation  and  drink  it. 

On  one  occasion  Jesus  said,  "  Labor  not  for  the 
meat  which  perisheth  but  for  that  which  endureth 
unto  everlasting  life":  whereupon  an  inquiry  was 
made,  "  What  shall  we  do  that  we  might  work  the 
works  of  God?"  to  which  he  replied,  "This  is  the 
work  of  God,  That  ye  believe  on  him  whom  God  hath 
sent."  All  other  works,  such  as  giving  of  tithes, 
penance,  pilgrimages,  sacrifices,  are  ineffective.  They 
have  no  relation  to  the  salvation  of  the  soul.  Faith 
is  the  sole  condition  of  it. 

And  reason  adds  her  testimony  to  that  of  Scrip- 
ture. God  is  not  to  be  thought  of  as  a  merchant, 
that  he  should  sell  his  wares.  He  is  indeed  repre- 
sented by  Isaiah  as  standing  like  a  huckster  at  the 
corner  of  the  streets  crying,  "  Ho,  every  one  that 
thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the  waters,  and  he  that  hath  no 
money;  come  ye,  buy  and  eat;  yea,  come,  buy  wine 
and  milk!"  but,  observe,  the  invitation  is  to  buy 
"without  money  and  without  price."  God  is  a  King 
and,  as  such,  he  gives  right  royally.  When  Voltaire 
was  at  the  court  of  Frederick  the  Great  he  was  cut 
down  in  his  allowance  of  sugar  at  table,  for  which  he 
says  he  indemnified  himself  by  pocketing  the  wax 
candles.  But  then,  Frederick  "the  Great"  was 
notorious  for  parsimony,  being  called  "  the  meanest 
of  men."  We  expect  better  things  than  this  of  kings. 
And  surely,  the  King  of  kings  has  no  need  of  our 
petty  coin:  nor  does  he  offer  his  grace  as  quid  pro  quo. 

One  of  the  ancients  said,  Coeluni  gratis  non  accipiam^ 
that  is,  "I  will  not  take  heaven  for  naught."  But, 
my  friend,  you  will  accept  life  gratis  or  not  at  all. 


GOOD     WORKS.  75 

God  is  a  great  giver,  and  his  unspeakable  gift  is  to 
be  had  for  the  taking.  "  Long  as  I  live  I'll  still  be 
crying,  Mercy's  free!  " 

This  is  the  fundamental  truth  of  Protestantism: 
''Justification  by  Faith."  Here  ran  the  line  of 
cleavage  in  the  Reformation.  As  Luther,  clothed 
still  in  his  monastic  garb  and  Aweary  with  a  long 
pilgrimage,  was  climbing  Sancta  Scala  on  his  knees, 
he  heard  a  Voice  as  if  from  hea\en  saying,  "  The  just 
shall  live  by  faith!  "  He  rose  to  his  feet  a  new  man, 
with  the  light  of  a  great  discovery  shining  in  his  eyes. 
What  need  of  penance,  of  scourging  the  body  for  the 
sins  of  the  soul,  of  counting  the  beads  on  a  rosary,  of 
making  long  pilgrimages,  when  faith  alone, can  save? 

II.  Nevertheless,  faith  and  works  are  inseparably  joined 
together  J  so  inseparably  that  neither  can  live  without 
the  other;  so  inseparably  that  good  worlcs  are  pos- 
sible to  him  alone  who  lives  by  faith  upon  the  Son  of 
God. 

Good  works  are  the  outgrowth  of  faith;  as  the  stalk 
grows  from  the  seed  or  the  flower  from  the  bud.  He 
who  accepts  Christ  as  his  Saviour  is  bound  to  serve 
him  by  the  constraint  of  love.  It  was  such  a  man 
who,  recently,  in  my  presence,  used  these  words: 

"  I  would  not  work  my  soul  to  save, 

For  that  my  Lord  hath  done; 

But  I  would  work  like  any  slave 

For  love  of  God's  dear  Son." 

He   did    not    know  that  he  was   echoing  the   hymn 

which  Xavier  wrote  under  his  crucifix: 

"Thou,  O  my  Jesus,  thou  didst  me 
Upon  the  cross  embrace; 
For  me  didst  bear  the  nails  and  spear 
And  manifold  disgrace. 


76  GOOD     WORKS. 

"  Should  I  not  serve  Thee,  Saviour  mine, 
Should  I  not  serve  thee  well; 
Not  for  the  hope  of  gaining  heaven, 
Nor  of  escaping  hell, 

Not  for  the  hope  of  earning  aught, 

Of  gaining  a  reward. 
But  freely,  fully  as  Thyself 

Hast  loved  me,  O  Lord?" 

Good  works  are  also  the  evidence  of  faith.     I  have  no 
means   of   knowing   that  there   is   machinery  in  my 
watch-case  except  by  the  motion  of  the  hands  around 
the  dial.       James  says,  "  What  doth  it  profit,  my  breth- 
ren, though  a  man  say  he  hath  faith,  and  have  not  works? 
Can  faith  save  him  2  If  a  brother  or  a  sister  be  naked  and 
destitute  of  daily  food,  and  one  of  you  say  unto  them.  Depart 
in  peace,  be  ye  warmed  and  filled  ;  notwithstanding  ye  give 
them    not  those   things  which    are   needful  to    the    body ; 
what  doth  it  profit  ?     Even  so  faith,  if  it  have  not  works, 
is  dead,  being  alone.      Yea,    a  man  may  say,  Thou  hast 
faith   and  I  have   works :    show  me   thy  faith    without 
thy  works,  and  1  will  show  thee  my  faith  by  my  works. 
Thou  believest  that  there  is  one  God;  thou  doest  well;  the 
devils   also   believe  and  tremble.     But  wilt  thou  know,   O 
vain    man,  thai  faith  ivithout  works  is   dead?     Was  not 
Abraham  our  father  justified  by  works,  when  hehadoffered 
Isaac  his  son  upon  the  altar?  Seest  thou  how  faith  wrought 
with  his  works,  and  by  works  faith  was  made  perfect?  And 
the  Scripture  was  fulfilled  which  saith,  Abraham  believed 
God,  and  it  was  imputed  unto  him  for  righteousness;  and 
he  was  called  the  Friend  of  God.     For  as  the  bo9y  without 
the  spirit  is  dead,  so  faith  without  works  is  dead  also. " 

In  other  words  faith  without  works  is  an  impossi- 
ble hypothesis.     Not   by  the   wildest   stretch  of  the 


GOOD    WORKS.  77 

imagination  can  a  mummy  be  called  a  man.  No 
more  is  faith  faith,  unless  it  has  a  beating  heart  and 
flashing  eyes,  lips  to  speak  and  hands  to  do  the  work 
of  God. 

//  is  good  works  moreover  that  give  dynamic  value  to 
faith.  I  recently  heard  a  soldier  say  of  General 
Howard,  "We  spoke  of  him  as  'the  praying  Gen- 
eral.' For  a  long  time,  however,  his  religion  was  on 
trial;  until  at  Chancellorsville  he  walked  before  his 
weary  men,  under  fire,  his  arm  twice  broken  dang- 
ling at  his  side,  calling  upon  us  to  fight  for  our 
country  and  be  sure  that  God  was  with  us.  Then 
we  believed  in  him. "  Thus  the  world  pays  tribute  to  a 
faith  which  manifests  itself  in  works.  Faith  preaches 
by  works ;  and  this  is  the  true  preaching  of  the  Gospel. 

III.  We  note  also  a  vital  relation  of  good  works  to  the 
happiness  of  heaven.  It  is  true  that  faith  alone  admits 
us  there,  but  works  assign  us  to  our  respective  places. 

We  must  not  conceive  of  heaven  as  a  dull  and 
monotonous  level  of  spiritual  joy.  There  are  grada- 
tions. We  read  of  various  ranks  of  "angels  and 
archangels,  principalities  and  powers  and  domin- 
ions," ranging  from  the  humblest  one  in  the  shining 
host  to  the  great  archangel,  who  stands  as  prime 
minister  beside  the  throne.  And  there  are  like 
gradations  among  the  saints  triumphant.  It  is 
written,  "  They  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  bright- 
ness of  the  firmament;  and  they  that  turn  many  to 
righteousness  as  the  stars  forever  and  ever":  and  it 
is  also  written,  "  One  star  differeth  from  another  star 
in  glory." 

Heaven  is  a  place  of  promotion.     The  diversity     j_^ 
among  the  saints  triumphant  is  not  due  merely  to  a 


78  GOOD    WORKS. 

difference  of  capacity  for  joy  and  service,  but  to  a 
less  or  greater  faithfulness  in  service  here  and  now. 
It  is  true  that  all  laborers  in  the  vineyard  are  said  to 
receive  the  same  wages,  a  penny  at  evening;  but  a 
penny  is  not  the  same  to  all.  A  penny  given  to  a 
child  will  open  a  wellspring  of  joy,  while  a  sated 
epicure  would  scorn  it.  A  penny  to  a  starving  man 
is  life,  but  to  Rothschild  a  mere  bagatelle.  Thus  all 
who  labor  for  Christ  shall  receive  eternal  life  as  their 
"penny  at  evening";  but  there  are  infinite  possibili- 
ties of  variety  in  the  measure  of  that  life. 

We  are  glad  to  remember  that  the  dying  thief 
was  saved  in  articulo  mortis;  and  that,  by  simple  faith 
and  not  an  hour  devoted  to  the  actual  service  of 
Christ,  he  entered  Paradise.  Blessed  be  God  that 
mercy  is  so  free!  But  will  any  one  presume  to  say 
that  heaven  is  the  same  to  that  penitent  thief  and  to 
Paul  the  apostle,  who,  from  the  hour  of  his  conver- 
sion gave  himself  no  rest  in  service,  but  toiled  on, 
suffered  on,  journeyed  on,  in  perils  oft  by  land  and 
sea,  until,  worn  out  in  faithfulness,  he  went  to  meet 
his  Master,  saying,  "I  have  fought  a  good  fight;  I 
have  finished  my  course;  I  have  kept  the  faith; 
henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  right- 
eousness which  the  Lord  the  righteous  Judge  will 
give  me  at  that  day  "  ?  The  thief  was  saved  "so  as 
by  fire,"  like  a  man  escaping  from  a  burning  house; 
but  Paul  entered  heaven  with  "an  abundant 
entrance"  and  passed  on  to  an  assignment  of  joys 
and  tasks  proportioned  to  his  long  apprenticeship 
and  faithful  service. 

The  Book  of  Remembrance  which  is  to  be  opened 
at  the  Great  Day,   will  furnish  the  basis  of  a  just 


GOOD    WORKS.  79 

system  of  remuneration.  Every  man  shall  receive 
"according  to  the  things  done  in  the  body." 
Rewards  will  be  distributed  according  to  merit. 
*'  Whoso  shall  give  a  cup  of  water  to  one  of  Christ's 
little  ones  shall  in  no  wise  lose  his  reward."  God  is 
a  sure  paymaster.  "  Whatsoever  a  man  soweth  that 
shall  he  also  reap.  He  which  soweth  sparingly  shall 
reap  sparingly;  and  he  which  soweth  bountifully 
shall  reap  bountifully.  He  that  reapeth  receiveth 
wages  and  gathereth  fruit  unto  life  eternal."  Thus 
heaven  is  what  we  make  it.  "  Blessed  are  the  dead 
that  die  in  the  Lord;  yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  They  do 
rest  from  their  labors  and  their  works  do  follow 
them."  We  enter  heaven  by  faith  in  Christ;  but,  once 
there,  our  place  amid  the  varied  joys  and  services  of 
that  celestial  realm  shall  be  determined  by  our  record 
of  faithfulness  here  and  now.  What  solemnity  it  gives 
to  these  passing  days  to  reflect  that  we  are  thus  build- 
ing for  ourselves  an  eternal  house  to  dwell  in! 

In  view  of  the  foregoing  considerations  it  is 
apparent  that  any  one  who  is  desirous  of  doing  good 
works,  must  begin  by  coming  to  Christ.  Not  that 
the  life  of  a  Christless  man  may  not  be  abundant  in 
natural  "  goodness";  but  the  work  which  is  merito- 
rious, in  its  relation  to  eternal  life,  is  not  that  which 
merely  conforms  to  the  Moral  Law — like  the  inno- 
cence of  a  graven  image — but  that  which  has  love 
for  Christ  as  its  motive  and  Christ  himself  as  its  end. 
All  other  works  are  mere  ciphers,  as  to  positive 
merit  or  remuneration.  A  thousand  ciphers  are  but 
naught;  but  put  a  unit  before  them  and  you  make 
them  of  incalculable  value.  Christ  is  the  unit  that 
gives  moral  value  to  life. 


8o  GOOD    WORKS. 

And  having  accepted  Christ,  if  we  would  make 
the  utmost  of  life,  let  us  keep  close  to  him.  He  who 
would  raise  roses  must  water  the  roots.  Let  us  fix 
our  eyes  on  Calvary  until  the  eye  affecteth  the  heart 
and  the  heart  affecteth  the  hands.  Let  us  fix  our 
eyes  on  Christ  and  him  crucified  until  our  whole  life 
shall  be  an  oblation  of  gratitude  to  him  who  has 
saved  us  with  his  precious  blood.  "  All  this  for  me  ! 
What  have  I  done  for  thee?  " 

And  this  is  real  success;  to  serve  Christ  always, 
everywhere,  doing  ever  the  next  thing  for  him.  It  is 
not  great  services  that  make  the  sum  and  substance 
of  a  Christian  life,  but  service  small  or  great,  day  by 
day  and  hour  by  hour,  until  he  calls  us. 

A  certain  "saint"  of  the  olden  time,  named 
Theodolus,  in  order  to  put  heaven  under  contribu- 
tion, stood  on  a  pillar  forty  years,  in  sight  of  an 
admiring  multitude,  until  in  his  vainglorious  com- 
placency he  cried,  "O  God,  where  is  another  like 
me?"  A  voice  from  heaven  answered,  "  The  clown 
Christopher  is  holier  than  thou!"  Whereupon  the 
saint  descended  from  his  pillar  and  sought  until  he 
found  the  mummer  in  the  crowd.  "What  hast  thou 
done,"  he  asked,  "that  God  should  praise  thee?  As 
for  me,  I  have  spent  forty  years  on  yonder  pillar, 
making  merit,  under  the  blazing  suns  and  storms  of 
heaven.  Tell  me,  what  good  thing  hast  thou  done?'' 
And  the  mummer  answered,  "  I  ?  Nothing  !  I  have 
loved  my  Lord  and  sought  to  follow  him;  but,  as 
for  good  works,  I  can  recall  none.  But  wait;  I  do 
remember  that  yesterday  I  saw  a  poor  wretch  beaten 
and  wounded  in  the  street,  and  I  bethought  me  of 
Christ  and  of  his  Good  Samaritan  ;  and  for  my  Lord's 


GOOD    WORKS.  8l 

sake  I  bound  up  his  wounds  and   ran  away;  but  1 
knew  not. that  any  gave  heed  to  it." 

Of  those  who  sound  a  trumpet  to  herald  their 
alms  the  Master  says,  "Verily,  they  have  their 
reward;"  they  have  it  in  the  praises  of  men.  Not 
great  crusades,  nor  the  founding  of  colleges  and 
hospitals,  nor  other  deeds  that  are  blazoned  abroad, 
shall  be  deemed  worthiest  in  the  Great  Day;  but 
rather  the  things  that  are  done  modestly  and  humbly, 
in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  by  those  who  care  less 
for  fame  than  for  their  Lord's  "Well  done."  These 
shall  shine  brightest  on  the  pages  of  the  Book  of 
Life. 

O,  that  will  be  a  Day  of  great  surprises!  "  And 
many  that  are  first  shall  be  last,  and  the  last  first." 
Many  shall  be  called  to  the  high  places  who  here 
wist  not  that  their  faces  shone.  "  Then  shall  the  King 
say  unto  them  on  his  right  hand,  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my 
Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world  :  for  I  was  an  hungered  and  ye 
gave  me  meat ;  I  was  thirsty  and  ye  gave  me  drink  j  I  was 
a  stranger  and  ye  took  me  in  ;  naked  and  ye  clothed  me  ;  I 
was  sick  a7id  ye  visited  me  j  I  was  in  prison  and  ye  came 
unto  me.  Then  shall  the  righteous  answer  him,  saying. 
Lord,  when  saw  we  thee  an  hungered  and  fed  thee  ?  or 
thirsty  and  gave  thee  to  drink  2  When  saw  we  thee  a 
stranger  and  took  thee  in  ?  or  naked  and  clothed  thee  ?  Or 
when  saw  we  thee  sick,  or  in  prison,  and  came  unto  thee  ? 
And  the  King  shall  answer  and  say  unto  them.  Verily  I 
say  unto  you.  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  otie  of  the 
least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me, " 


AT  THE  BRINK  OF  THE  WATERS. 

"  When  ye  are  come  to  the  brink  of  the  water,  ye  shall  stand  still  in 
Jordan."— Joshua  3,  8. 

Go  as  far  as  God  bids  you  and  stand  still:  stand 
still  and  look  for  a  miracle! 

But,  perhaps,  you  do  not  believe  in  miracles  ? 
You  must  if  you  believe  in  God;  since  everything  he 
does  is  miraculous.  A  man  in  charge  of  an  army, 
finding  it  necessary  to  cross  Jordan  at  the  fiood^ 
would  call  upon  his  engineers  to  build  a  pontoon 
bridge;  but  his  bridge  would  be  no  miracle.  All 
that  we  do  is  commonplace;  but  the  moment  God 
begins  to  work,  we  cry,  "Wonderful!"  He  builds 
no  bridges  but  sends  his  people  through  the  river 
dry-shod.  Our  extremity  is  his  opportunity.  When 
we  have  reached  the  end  of  our  tether,  we  may  con- 
fidently look  to  him. 

This  was  the  twice-taught  lesson  of  Israel.  On 
escaping  from  Egypt,  a  horde  of  fugitive  slaves, 
they  found  themselves  shut  up  at  Pi-hahiroth,  in  a 
pocket  between  the  mountains  and  the  sea.  They 
could  hear  in  the  distance  the  rattle  of  Pharaoh's 
chariots  and  the  shouting  of  his  armed  men;  then 
they  cried  unto  the  Lord  in  their  distress  and  he 
saved  them.  The  waters  of  the  sea  were  divided 
and,   passing  through  unscathed,  they  sang,    "Who 

(82) 


AT    THE    BRINK   OF    THE    WATERS.  83 

is  like  unto  our  God?  Glorious  in  holiness,  fearful  in 
praises,  doing  wonders!  "     Aye,  doing  miracles! 

That  was  forty  years  before;  and  meanwhile  the 
horde  of  fugitive  slaves  had  become  a  mighty  nation. 
And  now  again  they  were  come  to  the  great  waters. 
The  Lord  speaks,  as  before,  "Go  forward!"  The 
priests,  bearing  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  are  to 
advance  until  their  feet  are  "dipped  in  the  brim  of 
the  water;"  and  there,  where  human  power  ends, 
God  promises  to  meet  them  with  a  demonstration  of 
his  omnipotence.  His  word  holds  good;  "the 
waters  from  below  are  cut  off  from  the  waters 
that  come  from  above  and  they  stand  upon  an 
heap;"  and  the  people  pass  over  into  the  Land  of 
Promise. 

The  law  here  stated  is  of  universal  application. 
"  God  helps  those  who  help  themselves." — "Under- 
take great  things  for  God  and  expect  great  things 
from  God." — "According  to  your  faith  be  it  unto 
you."  Had  the  priests  who  bore  the  Ark  of  the 
Covenant  gone  forward  with  laggard  step,  flouting 
at  miracles,  they  would  have  met  with  the  discom- 
fiture which  befalls  the  doubting  and  caviling  in 
every  age.  But  they  had  proven  God  and  were  pre- 
pared to  take  him  at  his  word.  The  roaring  waters 
of  the  Jordan  swelled  before  them,  but  they  advanced 
as  confidently  as  if  about  to  ford  a  babbling  brook. 
As  a  matter  of  course,  the  miracle  was  forthcoming. 
As  a  tnatter  of  course^  I  say;  for  God  is  a  covenant- 
keeping  God,  and  hope,  founded  on  his  promises, 
"  maketh  not  ashamed. " 

In  the  application  of  this  rule  let  us  begin  at  the 
lower  level  of  life,  that  is,  in  Secular  Affairs.     It  is 


84  AT    THE   BRINK    OF    THE    WATERS. 

possible  no  doubt  for  a  business  man  to  achieve 
success  of  a  sort  without  taking  God  into  his  reckon- 
ing; but  the  house  which  he  builds  is  at  best  a  house 
of  cards.  All  true  and  enduring  success  is  won  by 
those  whose  pathway  is  under  the  shadow  of  Sinai 
and  over  the  slopes  of  Olivet.  It  makes  a  great 
difference  to  a  man,  in  the  long  run,  whether  he  lives 
and  labors  with  or  without  God.  Up  to  a  certain 
point,  given  ordinary  energy,  health  and  oppor- 
tunity, man  is  the  architect  of  his  own  fortunes;  but 
beyond  that  his  success  is  from  above.  "  There's  a 
Divinity  that  shapes  our  ends,  rough  hew  them  how 
we  will." 

On  the  shore  of  Gennesareth  a  group  of  fisher- 
men were  mending  their  nets,  in  the  early  morning, 
when  Jesus  came  that  way.  He  spoke  for  a  while 
concerning  the  things  of  the  Kingdom,  and  then  said 
to  them,  "  Launch  out  into  the  deep  and  let  down 
your  nets  for  a  draught."  They  answered,  "We 
have  toiled  all  night  and  taken  nothing.  (How 
many  a  man  has  spent  his  life  in  taking  naught  but 
water-hauls!)  Nevertheless  at  thy  word  we  will  let 
down  the  nets."  And  thereupon  they  enclosed  a 
great  draught  of  fishes,  filling  their  boats  to  the 
gunwale.  O,  blessed  is  the  man,  in  workshop  or 
office,  who  has  thus  taken  Christ  into  a  silent 
partnership.  Not  that  a  superficial  success  is  impos- 
sible without  him  ;  but  the  highest  and  best  is  always 
a  miracle;  and  the  Lord  alone  can  accomplish  it. 
Do  your  best,  my  friend:  use  your  resources  of  time 
and  energy  to  the  utmost;  and  then,  without  fear 
or  misgiving,  look  to  him !  Courage  plus  Faith  is 
bound  to  win. 


AT    THE    BRINK    OF    THE    WATERS.  85 

"  He  either  fears  his  fate  too  much, 
Or  his  deserts  are  small, 
Who  dares  not  put  it  to  the  touch, 
To  gain  or  lose  it  all." 

But  will  our  rule  apply  in  the  larger  provinces,  as,  for 
example,  in  the  pursuit  of  Truth  ?  Aye,  when  eyesight 
fails  the  veil  is  lifted.  We  want  to  know  about  God 
and  immortality,  about  providence  and  grace,  about 
all  problems  of  the  invisible  and  eternal  life.  "  Wis- 
dom is  the  principal  thing."  How  shall  we  attain 
unto  it  ?  If  we  live  up  to  the  full  measure  of  our  light, 
greater  light  will  be  given  us.  The  lantern  in  the 
hand  of  the  truth-seeker  casts  its  gleam  but  the 
length  of  a  single  step:  nor  will  it  ever  shine  further, 
except  as  he  moves  on.  To  him  that  hath  shall  be 
given.  "  The  path  of  the  just  is  as  a  shining  light, 
which  shineth  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day." 

The  burning  bush,  which  Moses  saw  in  the  desert 
of  Midian,  provoked  in  him  a  mighty  curiosity.  And 
he  said,  "  I  will  turn  aside  and  see  this  great  sight, 
why  the  bush  burneth  and  is  not  consumed!  "  The 
thinker,  standing  where  Moses  stood,  is  confronted 
by  two  dangers :  On  the  one  hand  he  may  resolve  to 
tear  the  bush  asunder,  in  order  to  discover  its  secret; 
and,  behold,  there  is  nothing  there!  This  is  ever  the 
penalty  of  presumption.  Is  it  strange  that  those 
destructive  critics  who  have  rent  the  Scriptures,  word 
from  word,  in  the  hope  of  finding  the  rationale  of 
inspiration,  have  had  their  labor  for  their  pains  ?  But 
the  other  danger  is  that  the  truth-seeker  may  be 
frightened  by  the  burning  bush  and  run  away;  in 
which  case  there  is  no  revelation  for  him.  That  way 
lies  Agnosticism.     Nay,  stand  and  listen!     Draw  not 


86  AT   THE   BRINK   OF   THE    WATERS. 

too  near,  yet  retreat  not!  "  Put  off  thy  shoes  from 
off  thy  feet,  for  the  place  whereon  thou  standest  is 
holy  ground."  Thus  standing  with  bowed  head, 
awaiting  the  lesson  of  the  supernatural,  thou  art  not 
far  from  the  kingdom  of  God.  He  speaks  from  the 
bush:  "I  am  the  God  of  thy  fathers;  and  behold  I 
will  send  thee!  "  He  who  thus  pursues  his  quest  to 
the  uttermost  limit  of  his  present  light  and  stands  there 
in  an  attitude  of  faith,  will  find  the  veil  lifting  more 
and  more.  For  truth  is  a  revelation ;  and  revelation 
is  ever  a  miracle.  "There  are  so  many  voices  and 
none  of  them  is  without  signification  ";  but  the  gift 
of  interpretation  is  for  the  man  of  courage  and  faith. 
For  him  there  are  always  "  tongues  in  trees,  books  in 
the  running  brooks,  sermons  in  stones,  and  good  in 
everything."  He  passes  on,  from  truth  to  truth,  as 
through  doors  opening  one  by  one,  until  the  last 
admits  him  into  the  ineffable  glory. 
/-  IVe  turn  now  to  character-building ;  and  here  also  the 
'  rule  applies.  The  high  aim  of  every  earnest  man  is 
perfection,  "  Be  ye  perfect,  saith  the  Lord,  for  I  am 
perfect."  In  the  pursuit  of  this  ambition  we  have 
two  standards,  and  alas!  both  baffle  us.  There  is  the 
Law;  and,  however  we  hue  to  the  line,  the  result  is 
transgression.  The  word  is  significant;  "  crossing  the 
line."  Our  other  standard  is  Christ,  the  ideal  Man. 
We  fain  would  measure  up  to  his  stature;  but  the 
result  is  always  short-co?ning,  "  There  is  no  difference, 
we  have  all  sinned  and  come  short."  What  then? 
Shall  we  give  up,  discouraged?  Nay;  go  forward! 
Go  forward  till  your  feet  are  in  the  very  brink  of  the 
waters.  Go  to  your  uttermost,  and  then  look  to  God. 
The  thing  which  is  impossible  to  you  is  easy  to  him, 


AT    THE    BRINK    OF    THE    WATERS.  87 

**  Forget,  therefore,  the  things  which  are  behind  and 
reach  forth  unto  those  which  are  before,  and  press 
toward  the  mark!  "  This  "  mark"  is  perfection,  and 
God  will  accomplish  it.  Not  until  death,  indeed; 
but  then,  hosanna!  sin  will  fall  away  like  a  garment 
and  we  shall  be  glorified  in  him. 

It  is  like  the  carving  of  a  statue.  We  strive  with 
hammer  and  chisel,  with  infinite  pains,  day  by  day, 
yet  our  work  falls  short  of  our  ideal.  It  lacks  some- 
thing. Touch  it  ;  the  marble  is  cold  and  irrespon- 
sive. There  is  no  flush  of  health,  no  sparkle  of  life. 
But  be  of  good  courage  :  be  not  faithless,  but 
believing.  The  veil  will  lift  in  fulness  of  time.  God 
will  touch  our  best  and  make  it  perfect.  The  cold 
statue  will  glow  with  warmth  and  palpitate  with  life. 
We  shall  be  satisfied  when  we  awake  in   his  likeness, 

Then^  as  to  our  service  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ.     The 
secret  of  success  here,  also,  lies  in  doing  our  best 
and  waiting  on   God.     It  is  for  us  to  go  forth,  sow- 
ing the  seed  of  the  kingdom  ;  but  as  to  the  harvest 
this  is  the  miracle  for  which  we  look  to  God. 

His  word  to  every  man  is,  "Go  work  to-day." 
There  is  a  place  for  us  in  the  tillage  of  the  world. 
Our  highest  glory  is  in  our  appointment  to  be  labor- 
ers together  with  God.  "In  the  morning  sow  thy 
seed,  and  in  the  evening  withhold  not  thine  hands 
for  thou  knowest  not  whether  shall  prosper  this  or 
that."  It  is  for  us  to  scatter  the  seed-corn  in  the 
furrows  and  leave  the  result  with  God,  He  must 
give  the  dews  of  heaven,  the  sunshine,  the  early  and 
the  latter  rain.  Sowing  is  man's  work  ;  germination 
is  a  miracle.  But  faith  sees  the  miracle  aforetime 
and  reckons  on  it.     Faith  accepts  the  promise,  "  My 


88  AT   THE   BRINK   OF   THE   WATERS. 

word  shall  not  return  unto  me  void,  but  shall  accom- 
plish that  which  I  please,  and  prosper  in  the  thing 
whereto  I  send  it." 

Had  the  Church  thus  apprehended  her  duty, 
under  the  great  commission  *'  Go  ye,  preach  the 
Gospel  !  "  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the 
world  would  have  been  evangelized  long  ago.  We 
are  mourning  to-day  over  the  murder  of  our  mis- 
sionaries in  China,  and  the  faint-hearted  are  saying, 
"Is  it  worth  while  to  be  sending  them  forth  to 
death  ? "  It  is  enough  for  us  that  we  are  under 
marching  orders.  The  word  is,  "Go  forward!" 
The  Land  of  Promise  is  before  us,  "and  Jordan  rolls 
between!"  Go  down  into  the  brink  of  the  waters, 
O  fearing,  trembling  Church  !  If  men  must  die, 
what  then  ?  The  law  of  the  kingdom  is  mors  Jatiua 
intcB.  "  Except  a  corn  of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground 
and  die,  it  abideth  alone  ;  but  if  it  die,  it  bringeth 
forth  much  fruit. "  Shall  we  begrudge  the  seed-corn  ? 
The  Lord  waits  to  be  taken  at  his  word.  Not  yet 
have  those  who  bear  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant  gone 
far  enough  into  the  waters.  They  shrink  from  the 
chill.  YdCxXhplus  courage  will  win  not  China  only, 
but  the  whole  world  to  the  Gospel  of  Christ. 

And  now,  with  reference  to  the  familiar  controversy  as 
to  the  efficacy  of  prayer  :  here,  too,  the  rule  applies. 
The  promise  is,  "Ask  and  it  shall  be  given  you." 
This  asking  is  the  path  leading  down  to  the  brink  of 
the  waters  ;  and  God's  giving  is  the  miracle  with 
which  he  meets  us. 

We  are  accustomed  to  speak  of  "the  power  of 
prayer."  We  say  it  "moves  the  hand  that  moves 
the  world."     In  fact,   prayer,    intrinsically,   has   no 


•"'  AT    THE    BRINK    OF    THE    WATERS.  89 

power  at  all.  It  is  but  breath,  the  breath  of  a  mortal 
man.  But  it  has  pleased  God  to  affix  a  great  prom- 
ise to  it  ;  a  promise  in  which  there  is  no  if,  or  per- 
haps, or  perad  venture  :  "Ask  and  it  shall  be  given 
unto  you  ;  seek,  and  ye  shall  find  ;  knock,  and  it 
shall  be  opened  unto  you."  It  is  this  promise  that 
gives  omnipotence  to  our  plea  :  for  hath  God  spoken, 
and  shall  he  not  perform  it  ? 

One  condition,  however,  is  attached  to  the  efficacy 
of  praj'^er  ;  namely,  faith:  "According  to  your  faith 
be  it  unto  you."  If,  as  we  go  down  to  the  brink  of 
the  waters,  the  swellings  of  the  great  river  stretch 
impassable  before  us,  we  must  nevertheless  be  con- 
fident that  God  will  lead  us  through  dry-shod.  It  is 
for  us  to  put  him  in  remembrance  of  his  promises 
and,  confronting  the  apparently  impossible,  stand 
firm  and  see  his  salvation. 

It  was  thus  that  Bartimeus  in  the  Valley  of  Jeri- 
cho cried  aloud,  "Jesus,  thou  son  of  David,  have 
mercy  on  me."  A  blind  beggar,  with  naught  to  lean 
upon  but  his  great  courage  and  greater  faith  !  In 
vain  did  the  bystanders  seek  to  silence  him.  He 
would  go  to  his  uttermost  :  and  if  he  failed  it  should 
not  be  for  the  lack  of  importunity.  And  Jesus  said, 
"  What  wilt  thou  ?  " — "  O,  that  I  might  receive  my 
sight!" — "Receive  thy  sight." — The  miracle  was 
wrought  !  In  a  moment  the  film  was  lifted  from  his 
poor  eyes,  and  he  saw  the  green  fields,  the  purple 
vineyards,  the  blue  sky  and  the  face  of  Jesus,  who 
had  healed  him. 

And  there  is,  finally,  a  lesson  here  for  those  who  are  in 
terror  of  Death.  It  was  but  yesterday  that  a  friend 
said,  "  My  life  would  be  full  of  unalloyed  happiness 


9©  AT    THE    BRINK    OF    THE    WATERS. 

were  I  not  so  fearful  of  death  ;  I  tremble  whenever  I 
think  of  it."  Fear  not  !  God  parts  the  waters  for 
his  people.  Dying  grace  is  given  in  the  hour  of 
need. 

But  the  thing  which  I  desire  to  say,  at  this  point, 
has  been  so  aptly  put  by  a  recent  author*  that  I 
venture  to  use  her  words.  A  mountain  child,  hum- 
ble and  unschooled,  has  been  dreaming  dreams  and 
seeing  visions.      She  speaks  thus  : — 

"  Once  there  was  a  boy  that  was  dreadful  scaret  o' 
dyi7i .  Some  folks  is  that  way,  you  know  j  they  ain't  never 
done  it  to  know  how  it  feels,  and  they're  scaret.  And  this 
boy  was  that  way.  Me  wa'nt  very  rugged,  his  health  was 
sort  (?'  slim,  and  mebbe  that  made  him  think  about  sech 
things  more,  '  T  any  rate,  he  was  terrble  scaret  o'  dyin. ' 
'  T  was  a  long  time  ago  this  was, — the  time  when  posies  and 
creatures  could  talk  so's  folks  could  know  what  they  was 
sayin\ 

And  one  day,   as  this  boy,   his  tiame  was  Reuben, — / 

forgot  his  other  name — as  Reuben  was  settin   under  a  tree, 

an  ellum  tree,  cryin\  he  heerd  a  little,  little  bit  of  a  voice, — 

not  squeaky,  you  know,  but  small  and  thin  and  soft  like,  — 

and  he  see  'twas  a  posey  talkin\       '  Twas  one  d"  them  posies 

they   call  Benjamins,   with    three-cornered  whitey  blowths 

with  a  mite  o'  pink   on   'em,  and  it  talked  in   a  kind  o 

pinkey-white  voice,  and  it  says,  "  What  are  you  cryin  for, 

Reuben?''       And  he  says,  "  'Cause  I'm  scaret  o'  dyin'," 

says  he  J  '■'•  I'm   dreadful  scaret  o'  dyin'."       Well,   what 

do  you  think  ?      That  posey  Jest  laughed, — most  cur  us  little 

pinky-white  laugh  't  ivas, — and  it  says,  the  Benjamin  says  : 

'"'' Dyin' !      Scaret  o'    dyin'?       Why,   I  die  myself  every 

single  year  o'   my  life."      ^^  Die  yourself .'"  says  Reuben. 


*Story-tell   Lib  :  by  Annie  Trumbull  Slosson. 


AT    THE   BRINK    OF    THE    WATERS.  91 

"  YouWe foolin^ ; you're  alive  this  minute.''  ^'■'Course  I 
be.,"  says  the  Benjamin ;  ^^  but  that's  neither  here  nor 
there., — I've  died  every  year  sence  I  can  remeffiber," 
' '  Don't  it  hurt  ?  "  says  the  boy.  ' '  No,  it  don't, "  says  the 
posey  J  ' '  it's  real  nice.  You  see,  you  get  kind  0'  tired 
a-holdin  up  your  head  straight  and  lookiii'  peart  and  wide 
awake,  and  tired  0'  the  sun  shiniji  so  hot,  and  the  winds 
blowin'  you  to  pieces,  and  the  bees  a-takin  your  honey.  So 
it's  nice  to  feel  sleepy  and  kind  0'  hang  yoiir  head  down,  and 
get  sleepier  and  sleepier,  and  then  fiyid you're  droppin'  off. 
Then  you  wake  up  jest 't  the  nicest  time  0'  year,  and  come 

up  and  look  'round,  and why,  I  like  to  die,  I  do."    But 

someway s  that  didn't  help  Reuben  fnuch  as  you'd  think.  "  / 
ain't  a  posey,"  he  thinks  to  himself,  *'  and  niebbe  I  wouldn't 
co7ne  up." 

Well,  another  time  he  was  settin'  on  a  stone  in  the 
lower  pastur  ,  cryin'  again,  and  he  heerd  another  cur'us 
little  voice.  '  T  wa'nt  like  the  posey' s  voice,  but  't  was  a 
little,  woolly,  soft,  fuzzy  voice,  and  he  see  't  was  a  cater- 
pillar a-talkin  to  him.  And  the  caterpillar  says,  in  his 
fuzzy  little  voice,  he  says,  "  What  you  cryin  for, 
Reuben  ?  "  And  the  boy,  he  says,  ' '  I'm  powerful  scaret  o' 
dyin,  that's  why,"  he  says.  And  that  fuzzy  caterpillar  he 
laughed.  ^^Dyin!"  he  says.  '•'•I'm  lottin'  on  dyin' 
i7iyself.  All  my  fam'ly,"  he  says,  ^^  die  every  once  in  a 
while,  and  when  they  wake  up  they're  jest  splendid, — got 
wings,  and  fly  about,  and  live  on  honey  and  things.  Why, 
I  would  n't  miss  it  for  anything  !  "  he  says.  '•'•I'm  lottin' 
on  it. "  But  somehow  that  did  n't  chirk  up  Reuben  i7iuch. 
^'^ I  ain't  a  caterpillar,"  he  says,  ^'^  and  mebbe  I  would  n't 
wake  up  at  all." 

Well,  there  was  lots  o'  other  things  talked  to  that  boy, 
and  tried  to  help  him, — trees  atid  posies  and  grass  and 


92  AT    THE    BRINK    OF    THE    WATERS. 

crawlin  things,  that  was  allers  a-dyin'  and  livin\  and 
livin'  and  dyin  .  Reuben  thought  it  did  nt  help  him  any, 
but  I  guess  it  did  a  little  mite,  for  he  could  n't  help  thinkin' 
o"  what  they  every  one  on  'em  said.  But  he  was  scaret  all 
the  same. 

And  one  summer  he  begun  to  fail  up  faster  and  faster, 
and  he  got  so  tired  he  could  n't  hardly  hold  his  head  up, 
but  he  was  scaret  all  the  satne.  And  one  day  he  was  layin 
071  the  bed,  and  lookin  out  o'  the  east  winder,  and  the  sun 
kep'  a-shinin  in  his  eyes  till  he  shet  'em  up,  and  he  fell 
asleep.  He  had  a  real  good  nap,  and  when  he  woke  up  he 
went  out  to  take  a  walk. 

And  he  begun  to  think  o'  what  the  posies  and  trees  and 
creatures  had  said  about  dyin' ,  and  hotv  they  laughed  at  his 
bein  scaret  at  it,  and  he  says  to  himself,  ' '  IVhy,  someways 
I  don't  feel  so  scaret  to-day,  but  I  s'pose  I  be. "  And  Just 
then  what  do  you  think  he  done  1  Why,  he  met  a  Angel. 
He'd  never  seed  one  afore,  but  he  knowed  it  right  off.  Atid 
the  Angel  says,  ^^  Ain't  you  happy,  little  boy?"  And 
Reuben  says,  "  Well  I  would  be,  only  I'm  so  dreadful 
scaret  o'  dyin.  It  must  be  terr'ble  cur  us,"  he  says,  ^^  to 
be  dead."  And  the  Angel  says,  *'  Why,  you  be  dead." 
And  he  was. 

I  think  this  touches  a  responsive  cord  in  all  our 
hearts.  For  death,  even  to  the  most  trustful  and 
courageous,  is  a  passage  into  the  land  of  mystery. 
No  doubt  when  Moses  was  climbing  the  slopes  of 
Nebo  he  still  longed  to  live.  Was  ever  a  day  so  fair? 
Were  ever  the  hillsides  so  beautiful?  He  turned  to 
look  upon  the  tents  of  Israel  in  the  valley  below  and, 
uttering  his  last  farewell,  pursued  his  upward  path. 
And  then  God  met  him  and,  as  the  Moslems  say, 
"kissed  his  soul  away."     His  fear  was  but   moment- 


AT    THE    BRINK    OF    THE    WATERS.  93 

ary;  the  chill  is  only  at  the  water's  brink;  a  moment 
later  he  stood  on  the  further  shore  praising  God. 

It  must  have  been  observed  that  one  thing  has 
been  omitted  in  this  consideration,  and  that,  the  matter 
of  supreme  importance,  namely^  Salvatto?i,  The  sole  con- 
dition of  eternal  life  is  that  a  man  shall  believe  in 
Christ.  The  word  is  very  plain;  "  He  that  believeth 
in  the  Son  shall  be  saved."  And  yet  it  is  apparent 
that  faith  has  no  intrinsic  worth;  its  value  is  due 
wholly  to  the  fact  that  God  has  been  pleased  to  make 
it  the  imperative  condition  of  his  unspeakable  gift. 
Faith  marks  the  utmost  limit  of  human  strength;  as 
it  is  written,  ' '  This  is  the  work  of  God,  that  ye  believe 
on  him  whom  God  hath  sent."  We  may  not  be  able 
to  comprehend  the  rationale  of  faith,  any  more  than 
the  children  of  Israel  were  able  to  perceive  before- 
hand the  advantage  of  going  down  into  the  waters. 
There  is  only  one  thing  to  do,  that  is,  to  heed  the 
command  and  leave  the  rest  with  God.  This,  in 
brief,  is  the  gospel  plan  of  salvation.  It  involves 
both  courage  and  faith;  courage  to  go  blindfold  in  a 
path  divinely  marked  out,  and  faith  to  anticipate  the 
great  miracle  of  grace.  For  conversion  is  the  pre- 
eminent miracle  and  God  never  performs  it  until  a 
man  has  reached  and  knows  he  has  reached  the 
utmost  limit  of  his  own  resources. 

The  penitent  thief  did  what  he  could.  Few  and 
painful  were  the  hours  allotted  to  him  for  reviewing 
the  past  and  preparing  for  Eternity.  Whatever  he 
did  must  be  done  quickly.  He  saw  the  calm  courage 
and  patience  of  the  Nazarene  who  was  dying  beside 
him ;  he  saw  and  was  convinced.  A  word  of  prayer, 
wrung  from  his  agonized  soul,  marked  the  limit  of 


94  AT    THE    BRINK    OF    THE    WATERS. 

his  ability  :  "  Lord,  remember  me  !  "  But  that  was 
enough.  God  asks  no  better  than  our  best.  "To- 
day thou  shalt  be  with  me  in  Paradise  !  " 

If  you  covet  salvation,  my  friend,  take  God  at 
his  word.  Do  as  he  commands.  Do  not  stand 
trembling,  doubting,  hesitating,  on  the  brink  of 
Jordan.  Press  on,  and  the  waters  will  open  before 
you  !  God  is  the  Mighty  to  save.  Salvation  is  his 
greatest  wonder.  Only  believe  !  His  hand  is  out- 
stretched :  place  your  hand  in  his  and  say,  "Lord,  I 
believe  !"  Then  doubt  no  more  ;  question  no  more. 
You  have  done  your  best  and  utmost  :  now  leave  the 
rest  with  him. 


ON    CHOOSING  A  FRIEND 

"  He  that  hath  friends  must  show  himself  friendly;  and  there  is  a  friend 
that  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother."— Prov.  i8,  24. 

The  new  version  has  it,  "  He  that  maketh  many- 
friends  doeth  it  to  his  own  destruction."  The  state- 
ment in  its  earlier  form  is  obviously  true,  but  as 
revised  it  is  full  of  helpful  suggestion.  "Woe  unto 
you  when  all  men  speak  well  of  you !  "  It  is  impor- 
tant that  a  man  should  have  enemies  as  well  as  friends, 
else  he  is  not  a  downright  man.  "  Popularity,"  says 
Carlyle,  "is as  a  blaze  of  illumination  kindled  round 
a  man,  showing  what  is  in  him,  not  putting  the 
slightest  more  item  into  him,  often  abstracting  much 
from  him,  conflagrating  the  poor  man  himself  into 
ashes  and  caput  mortuum"  In  former  times  it  was  the 
custom  in  Yale  College  to  elect  nine  members  of 
each  class  as  "  cochleaureati,"  by  reason  of  personal 
popularity;  who  in  turn  elected  the  "best  fellow"  of 
their  number  to  receive  "the  wooden  spoon."  The 
passing  of  this  custom,  a  few  years  ago,  was  a  great 
grief  to  the  Alumni  but  it  is  generally  conceded  now 
that  the  University  is  better  without  it.  The  desire 
for  popularity  is  an  ignis  fatuus  which  leads  many  a 
noble  youth  into  the  quagmire  of  an  ignoble  life.  It 
is  not  so  important,  in  college  or  anywhere  else,  that 

(95) 


g6  ON    CHOOSING    A    FRIEND. 

a  man  should  be  a  good  fellow  as  that  he  should  be  a 
square  man. 

It  is  necessary,  however,  that  we  should  have 
friends.  For  lack  of  them  we  grow  nKsrose,  apathetic 
and  unprofitable.  It  is  true  that  a  man  should  be 
self-reliant.  I  confess  to  a  strong  liking  for  the 
frontiersman  who,  when  announced  at  the  door  of 
the  White  House  with  the  words,  "  Make  way  for 
Colonel  Crockett!  "  pushed  the  page  aside,  saying, 
**  David  Crockett  makes  way  for  himself."  It  must 
be  remembered,  however,  that  society  is  an  interde- 
pendency  m  which  no  man  liveth  unto  himself.  As 
iron  sharpeneth  iron  so  a  man  sharpeneth  the  face  of 
his  friend.  And  he  is  always  our  truest  friend  who 
does  most  to  bring  out  the  best  that  is  in  us. 

It  is  true,  also,  that  solitude  has  its  uses:  never- 
theless to  live  to  oneself  is  to  lose  one's  opportunity 
of  influence.  It  is  observed  that  the  poetry  which 
was  written  by  Wordsworth  when  he  was  living  apart 
from  the  world  at  Rydal  Mount  shows  a  distinct  loss  of 
power.   There  is  an  important  truth  in  Cowper's  words : 

"  I  praise  the  Frenchman,  his  remark  was  shrewd, 
*  How  sweet,  how  passing  sweet,  is  solitude.' 
Yet  give  me  still  a  friend  in  my  retreat 
Whom  I  may  whisper,  '  Solitude  is  sweet.'" 

And  nowhere  are  friends  more  necessary  than  in 
the  city;  for  of  all  wildernesses  this  is  most  lone  and 
dreary.  Here  are  multitudes  of  people,  jostling  each 
other  on  the  thoroughfares,  who  in  each  other's  eyes 
are  scarcely  more  important  than  flies  creeping  along 
the  wall.  Each  seems  to  be  saying,  like  the  Miller  of 
Dee,  "  I  care  for  nobody,  no  not  I;  and  nobody  cares 
for  me."     O,  the   loneliness  of   it!     O,   the  forlorn 


ON    CHOOSING    A    FRIEND,  97 

selfishness  of  it!  Our  streets  are  full  of   friendless 

men  and  women,  sore-hearted  and  disappointed,  who 

might  be  saved  from  despair  by  a  word  of  sympathy. 

Now  and   then   one  crosses  the  Bridge  of   Sighs  to 

self-inflicted  death: 

"  O,  it  was  pitiful; 
Near  a  whole  cityful, 
Friend  she  had  none! '' 

It  would  appear  that  our  churches  should  stretch 
forth  the  friendly  hand;  and,  indeed,  the  disposition 
is  not  lacking.  But  the  chill  of  strangeness  and  per- 
sonal seclusion  is  in  the  air.  We  scarcely  know  our 
neighbor  in  the  next  pew.  It  was  a  just  word  that 
was  dropped  into  a  minister's  letter-box  after  he  had 
preached  on  '*  The  Recognition  of  Saints  in  Heaven," 
suggesting  that  he  preach  on  the  recognition  of 
saints  on  earth. 

But  he  who  would  have  friends  must  show  him- 
self friendly.  There  are  two  parties  to  every  coven- 
ant. Advances  must  be  made.  And  just  here  is 
need  of  caution;  forbad  friends  are  infinitely  worse 
than  none  at  all. 

"  Friends  are  like  melons  :  shall  I  tell  you  why? 
To  find  one  good,  you  must  a  hundred  try." 

A  true  friendship  rests  on  four  pillars;  the  first 
of  which  is  Mutual  Respect.  In  choosing  a  friend  we 
should  at  the  outset  have  due  regard  for  character. 
One  who  is  addicted  to  vice  of  any  kind,  to  false- 
hood or  dishonesty,  foul  speech  or  unholy  life, 
cannot  be  worthy  of  confidence.  He  who  will  fool 
another  will  be  likely  to  fool  me.  And  the  very 
heart  of  friendship  is  confidence.  When  Alexander 
had  been   forewarned   that  his  court  physician  was 


98  ON   CHOOSING    A   FRIEND. 

about  to  administer  poison  in  his  medicine,  he  placed 
the  note  under  his  pillow,  sent  for  his  physician  and, 
looking  calmly  into  his  face,  drank  the  cup  which 
had  been  prepared  for  him.  It  is  such  confidence  as 
this  that  true  friendship  demands;  and  he  who  is 
unworthy  of  it  should  be  ruled  out. 

The  fabulous  Circe  had  a  garden  whose  gates 
were  ever  open  to  passers-by.  To  her  guests  she 
offered  a  sweet  potion,  but  those  who  drank  were 
straightway  transformed  into  dogs  and  swine  and  all 
manner  of  four-footed  and  creeping  things.  On  my 
way  to  church  this  morning  I  passed  a  group  of 
young  men,  one  of  whom  was  relating  a  story.  I 
caught  enough  of  it  to  inform  me  that  I  was  pass- 
ing by  Circe's  garden;  and  the  flushed  faces  and 
laughter  of  the  listeners  betrayed  the  transformation 
that  was  going  on. 

It  is  a  good  rule  to  select  our  friends  from  among 
our  betters.  To  choose  from  beneath  may  be  mag- 
nanimous, but  danger  lies  that  way.  No  influence 
in  the  world  is  so  pernicious  as  that  of  an  evil-minded 
associate.  It  is  like  the  ivy  which  I  once  saw  clam- 
bering up  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  castle  at  Innisfallen. 
It  had  found  its  way  in  and  out  of  door  and  lattice 
until,  displacing  stone  from  stone,  it  towered,  as  if 
in  triumph,  over  the  dilapidated  structure. 

The  second  pillar  of  Friendship  is  Mutual 
Sympathy  :  that  is,  an  agreement  of  feeling  and  con- 
viction as  to  important  things.  *'  Can  two  walk 
together  except  they  be  agreed?  "  I  came  down  the 
German  Molkenkur  one  evening  at  sunset  and  turned 
aside  from  the  path  into  the  forest  to  see  the  crimson 
glory.     The  Rhine  and  the  Neckar,  coming  together 


ON    CHOOSING    A    FRIEND.  99 

far  below,  looked  like  rivers  of  blood.  The  tiles  of 
Heidelberg  were  glowing  like  gold,  and  earth  and 
heaven  were  bathed  in  splendor.  I  said  aloud 
unconsciously,  "Wonderful!"  and  a  voice  behind 
me  said,  '■''  Schon!  Schon!''  I  turned  and  saw  a  tall 
Saxon,  who  proved  to  be  a  painter  of  the  Court, 
standing  like  myself  lost  in  wonder  at  the  scene. 
The  common  chord  which  had  been  struck  in  those 
brief  words  drew  us  close  together  as  we  walked 
down  the  mountain  in  the  gathering  gloom.  Years 
have  passed,  and  I  have  never  seen  that  man  again. 
Yet  often  have  I  recalled  with  pleasure  that  brief  but 
real  friendship,  "A  fellow  feeling  makes  us  won- 
drous kind." 

And  this  brings  me  to  the  thought  of  Christian 
friendship.  Here  runs  the  cleavage  which  divides 
the  world.  One  who  is  not  a  Christian  thinks  of 
Christ  as  "a  root  out  of  a  dry  ground  "  in  whom 
"there  is  no  form  nor  comeliness,  nor  any  beauty 
that  he  should  desire  him."  A  Christian,  on  the 
other  hand,  sees  in  Christ  the  chiefest  among  ten 
thousand  and  altogether  lovely,  his  Alpha  and 
Omega,  the  beginning  of  every  hope  and  aspiration, 
the  end  of  every  noble  endeavor;  his  first,  last, 
midst  and  all  in  all.  It  is  obviously  not  possible 
that  a  friendship  should  be  ever  at  its  best  unless  the 
parties  to  the  covenant  are  agreed  as  to  the  matter 
of  supreme  concern.  "  Be  not  unequally  yoked 
together  with  unbelievers,"  was  not  written'  with 
special  reference  to  wedlock,  but  to  all  the  relations 
of  a  Christian  life. 

The  truest,  sweetest  friendship  in  the  world  is 
that  which  finds  its  counterpart  in  the  walk  of  the 


lOO  ON    CHOOSING    A    FRIEND. 

two  disciples  to  Emmaus  (Luke  24,  13-32).  They 
were  talking  together  of  their  mutual  interest  in 
Christ  who  had  just  been  crucified.  "  And  it  came 
to  pass  that  while  they  communed  together  and 
reasoned,  Jesus  himself  drew  near  and  went  with 
them;  but  their  eyes  were  holden  that  they  should 
not  know  him.  And  he  expounded  unto  them  in  all 
the  Scriptures  the  things  concerning  himself."  Then 
they  came  to  the  village:  "and  it  came  to  pass,  as  he 
sat  at  meat  with  them,  he  took  bread  and  blessed  it, 
and  brake  and  gave  to  them;  and  their  eyes  were 
opened  and  they  knew  him;  and  he  vanished  out  of 
their  sight.  And  they  said  one  to  another.  Did  not 
our  hearts  burn  within  us  while  he  talked  with  us  by 
the  way?  " 

The  third  pillar  is  Mutual  Helpfulness.  It  is  not 
well  to  choose  for  one's  intimate  friend  a  melancholy 
man;  one  who  thinks  that  the  times  are  out  of  joint 
and  everything  is  going  to  the  bad.  There  is  sorrow 
enough  in  the  world  without  courting  it.  I  would 
rather  spend  a  cheery  hour  with  Dick  Swiveller,  car- 
rying his  flute  under  his  arm  and  humming,  "Away 
with  melancholy,"  than  a  day  among  the  misereres 
of  the  Capuchins. 

Nor  is  it  well  to  choose  a  flatterer.  My  friend 
must  be  ingenuous  and  frank  with  me.  One  of  the 
duties  of  friendship  is  candid  reproof.  I  detest  the 
man  who  congratulates  himself  on  his  "bluntness. " 
We  must  needs  be  thankful  to  any  one  who  will 
brush  off  a  venomous  insect  from  our  face,  but  it  is 
not  necessary  that  he  should  do  it  with  a  sledge 
hammer.  To  pluck  the  mote  out  of  a  friend's  eye  is 
distinctly  in  the  nature   of  kindness,  but  it  becomes 


ON    CHOOSING    A    FRIEND.  lOI 

the  very  opposite  when  done  with  hot  pincers.  True 
frankness  is  ever  tender  and  sympathetic  and,  while 
administering  reproof  on  occasion,  it  stimulates  to 
high  purpose  and  endeavor.  A  traveler  in  the 
mountains  of  Madeira  pays  tribute  to  a  guide  who, 
as  they  journeyed  up  steep  roads  through  the  dark- 
ness, kept  calling,  "Press  on,  Sefior,  I  can  see  light 
yonder  !  "  Thus  it  is  the  office  of  friendship  to  lend 
a  hand  in  darkness  and  give  encouragement  to  those 
who  have  fallen  by  the  way. 

Let  it  be  remembered,  however,  that  friendship 
is  a  mutual  affair.  It  is  give  and  take.  "And  re- 
member the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus  how  he  said, 
It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive."  The  ser- 
vice must  not  be  one-sided.  "  He  that  hath  friends 
must  show  himself  friendly."  The  old  saying,  "  He 
is  my  friend  who  brings  grist  to  my  mill  "  is  only 
half  a  truth ;  the  other  is  that  I  bring  grist  to  his  mill. 

A  veteran  of  Balaklava  relates  that,  as  he  fell 
wounded  with  a  bullet  through  both  knees,  his  bunk- 
mate  ran  to  him,  crying,  '*  Climb  up  and  I  will  carry 
you  off  !  "  But,  clinging  to  his  comrade's  back,  he 
perceived  that  he  was  bleeding  from  a  mortal  wound; 
whereupon  he  begged  to  be  put  down ;  but  the  faith- 
ful fellow  bore  him  off  the  field  and,  staggering,  fell 
dead.     Thus  true  friends  serve  each  other. 

The  fourth  pillar  of  Friendship  is  Steadfastness.  It 
is  easy  to  find  fair  weather  friends;  but  the  friend 
in  need  is  the  friend  indeed.  In  Greek  mythology 
friendship  was  represented  as  a  young  man,  bare- 
headed, in  tattered  garments,  having  on  his  forearm 
the  inscription  '■'■  vivere  et  mori,''  on  his  forehead 
"  aestate  el  hieme  "  and  on  his  breast  "■  prope  et  longe." 


I02  ON    CHOOSING    A    FRIEND. 

Ay,  this  is  the  oath  of  the  covenant,  for  Life  and 

I    Death,  for  Summer  and  Winter,  Near  and  Far! 

Have  you  such  friends  ?     Then   hold  them  fast  ! 

Be  loyal   to   them.     Their  love  is  not   to  be  valued 

with  rubies  or  the  gold  of  Ophir. 

"  The  friends  thou  hast  and  their  adoption  tried, 
Grapple  them  to  thy  soul  with  hooks  of  steel." 

It  remains  to  be  said  that  the  friend  above  all 
friends,  who  meets  all  possible  requirements,  is 
Jesus.  It  is  not  probable  that  Solomon  had  imme- 
diate reference  to  him  in  our  text  ;  yet  assuredly  he 
is  the  one  that  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother.  How 
near  he  comes  !  "  He  can  be  touched  with  a  feeling 
of  our  infirmities."  How  condescending  he  is  !  He 
invites  us  into  the  "secret  place  of  his  pavilion," 
where  he  imparts  "  the  secret  of  his  covenant."  How 
gloriously  and  beyond  all  peradventure  he  has  con- 
firmed his  friendship  ;  as  it  is  written,  "  Greater 
love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay  down  his 
life  for  his  friends  ";  but,  "  while  we  were  yet  ene- 
mies, Christ  died  for  us."  How  constant  his  love  ! 
It  is  recorded  that  "  having  loved  his  own,  he  loved 
them  to  the  end."  He  knew  that  Thomas  would 
doubt  him,  that  Peter  would  deny  him,  that  all 
would  forsake  him ;  and  yet  he  loved  them  to  the 
very  end. 
/  Have  you  made  his  acquaintance  ?     If  not,  come 

to  Calvary  and  let  him  seal  the  covenant  with  his 
blood.  You  may  do  without  his  friendship  for  a 
{  while;  but  twice  in  the  future  you  are  bound  to  need 
I  it.  Once,  when  you  come  to  the  border-land  :  for 
in  the  dying  hour,  there  is  no  friend  like  him. 
"Where  now,"  said  Jonathan  Edwards  at  the  last. 


ON   CHOOSING    A    FRIEND.  103 

waving  aside  all  others,  "is  Jesus,  my  tried  and 
trusted  friend  ?  "  And  again,  you  will  need  him  at 
the  great  assize.  Blessed  is  the  man  who  has  a  Friend 
at  Court  !  Jesus  has  promised  to  stand  at  the  Great 
Day  as  an  Advocate  in  the  behalf  of  those  who  love 

him. 

But  if  we  would  claim  his  friendship  then,  we 
must  enter  into  covenant  with  him  here  and  now. 
There  are  two  parties  to  this  covenant.  His  hand  is 
stretched  out:  will  you  take  it  ? 


THE  SUN  ON  GIBEON 

"  Then  spake  Joshua  to  the  Lord  in  the  day  when  the  Lord  delivered  up 
the  Amorites  before  the  children  of  Israel,  and  he  said  in  the  sight  of  Israel, 
'  Sun,  stand  thou  still  upon  Gibeon  ;  and  thou,  moon,  in  the  valley  of  Ajalon! ' 
And  the  sun  stood  still,  and  the  moon  stayed,  until  the  people  had  avenged 
themselves  upon  their  enemies.  Is  not  this  written  in  the  book  of  Jasher?  So 
the  sun  stood  still  in  the  midst  of  heaven,  and  hasted  not  to  go  down  about 
a  whole  day.  And  there  was  no  day  like  that  before  it  or  after  it,  that  the 
Lord  barkened  unto  the  voice  of  a  man  :  for  the  Lord  fought  for  Israel." — 
Joshua  lo,  12-14. 

The  battle  here  referred  to  is  called  by  Dean 
Stanley  the  "  Marathon  of  the  religious  history  of  the 
world."*  It  was  a  marshaling  of  truth,  progress  and 
righteousness  against  barbarism  and  darkness.  Who 
shall  conjecture  what  the  effect  would  have  been,  on 
the  progress  of  civilization,  had  it  terminated  other- 
wise ? 

A  crisis  had  been  reached  in  the  history  of  Israel. 
The  long  journey  through  the  wilderness  was  ended; 
Jericho,  the  key-city  of  the  promised  land,  had  been 
reduced.      Ai,    after  a  disastrous    repulse,  had  also 


*  "  It  is  one  of  the  few  military  engagements  which  belong  equally  to  Eccle- 
siastical and  to  Civil  History,  which  have  decided  equally  the  fortunes  of  the 
world  and  of  the  Church.  The  roll  will  be  complete  if  to  this  we  add  two  or 
three  more  which  we  shall  encounter  in  Jewish  History;  and,  in  later  times, 
the  battle  of  the  Milvian  Bridge,  which  involved  the  fall  of  Paganism;  the  battle 
of  Poitiers,  which  sealed  the  fall  of  Arianism;  the  battle  otBedr,  which  secured 
the  rise  of  Mahometanism  in  Asia ;  the  battle  of  Tours,  which  checked  the 
spread  of  Mahometanism  in  Western  Europe ;  the  battle  of  Lepanto,  which 
checked  it  in  Eastern  Europe;  the  battle  of  LUtzen,  which  determined  the 
balance  of  power  between  Roman  Catholicism  and  Protestantism  in  Germany." 

(104) 


THE   SUN    ON    GIBEON.  I05 

been  taken ;  and  the  Israelites  had  pushed  their  way 
to  the  heights,  whence  the  alluring  fields  of  Canaan 
were  in  clear  view. 

At  this  juncture  the  five  kings  of  Canaan  com- 
bined to  arrest  the  progress  of  the  invaders,  organ- 
izing a  great  army  under  the  command  of  Adoni- 
bezek,  the  king  of  Jerusalem.  Their  initial  move 
was  against  the  city  of  Gibeon,  whose  inhabitants  had 
entered  into  an  alliance  with  Israel.  The  beleaguered 
city  sent  word  to  Joshua:  "Slack  not  thy  hand; 
come  up  quickly  and  save  us!"  He  delayed  not  a 
moment;  making  a  moonlight  march  of  fifteen  miles 
through  the  valley,  he  fell  upon  the  confederate  army 
at  daybreak.  Every  inch  of  ground  was  fiercely 
disputed;  but  as  the  day  wore  on,  the  Canaanites 
were  driven  along  the  upper  roads  until  they  crossed 
the  ridge  of  Beth-horon. 

The  decisive  moment  had  arrived ;  a  crushing 
blow  now  meant  the  conquest  of  the  land.  But  it 
was  evident  to  Joshua  that  the  approaching  darkness 
would  enable  the  fugitives  to  escape  and  to  reogan- 
ize  their  forces.  Man's  extremity  is  God's  oppor- 
tunity. The  kingdom  of  heaven  suffereth  violence 
and  the  violent  take  it  by  force.  The  mighty  prayer 
was  offered:  "Sun,  stand  thou  still  upon  Gibeon!" 
God  hears;  the  light  lingers.  In  headlong  flight  the 
Canaanites  hasten  through  the  valley  of  Ajalon 
toward  the  maritime  plain.  The  way  is  clear  before 
the  host  of  Israel.     Canaan  is  won. 

It  is  well  that  this  victory  shall  find  place  in 
Jasher,  the  book  of  national  lyrics;  for  "there  was 
no  day  like  that,  before  it  or  after  it,  that  the  Lord 
hearkened  unto  the  voice  of  a  man." 


I06  THE   SUN   ON    GIBEON. 

The  picture  is  before  us.*  In  the  foreground, 
with  the  confusion  of  battle  around  him,  stands 
Joshua  in  his  chariot  with  uplifted  hand.  The  storm, 
which  lent  its  fury  to  the  earlier  fray,  is  rolling  away 
in  the  distance.  The  arrested  rays  of  the  declining 
sun  shine  through  the  overhanging  clouds.  The 
panic-stricken  Canaanites  are  crowded  along  the 
mountain  roads,  pursued  by  their  eager  foe.  Thus 
"the  Lord  fought  for  Israel  that  day." 

I.  The  scene  here  portrayed  stands  for  Truth  in 
Art.  It  is  a  departure  from  conventional  methods. 
There  is,  in  some  quarters,  a  strong  prejudice  against 
any  artistic  beautifying  of  the  sanctuary ;  an  objec- 
tion realized  in  the  severe  plainness  of  the  Puritan 
Chapel  and  the  Friends'  Meeting-house.  But  God's 
temple  in  the  olden  time  was  called  "the  House 
Magnifical,"  and  was  adorned  with  gold  and  silver, 
fine-twined  curtains,  bells  and  pomegranates,  and  all 
manner  of  "cunning  work."  Its  porch  was  sus- 
tained by  two  great  pillars  called  Jachin  and  Boaz, 
meaning,  "He  will  establish"  and  "In  him  is 
strength;"  but  as  the  eye  wandered  upward  along 
these  symbols  of  power  it  fell  upon  their  capitals  of 
lily  work.  Thus  it  is  written,  "  Honor  and  majesty 
are  before  thee;  strength  and  beauty  are  in  thy 
sanctuary." 

But  whatsoever  of  beauty  is  found  in  God's 
temple  should  be  a  perfect  expression  of  truth;  since 
the  Church  itself  is  "  the  ground  and  pillar  of  truth." 
Things  out  of  proportion,  twisted,  distorted,  ugly  or 


*This  sermon  was  preached  in  the  Marble  Collegiate  Church,  at  the 
dedication  of  a  memorial  window,  "the  gift  of  Sarah  A.  Sandham  in  loving 
memory  of  her  son,  George  Augustus  Sandham.    1834-1880," 


THE   SUN    ON    GIBEON.  1 07 

misshapen,  have  no  place  here.  It  is  said  that  when 
Cromwell,  the  great  iconoclast,  would  have  torn 
down  the  images  in  the  cathedral  at  Glasgow,  one  of 
his  lieutenants  remonstrated,  saying,  "  Sir,  here  is 
no  possibility  of  idolatry;  these  be  images,  indeed, 
but  they  are  not  made  in  the  likeness  of  anything 
that  is  in  heaven  above  or  in  the  earth  beneath  or  in 
the  waters  under  the  earth."  A  like  suggestion 
might  be  offered  as  to  much  of  our  ecclesiastical  art. 
God's  house  is  the  seat  of  the  beauty  of  holiness;  but 
holiness  is  whole-ness  or  symmetry.  A  false  note  in 
an  anthem  or  a  false  line  in  a  painted  window  is  as 
bad  as  a  false  word  in  the  pulpit,  as  far  as  it  goes. 
Not  the  preacher  only  but  the  place  must  have  a 
voice  to  say,  **  Finally,  brethren,  whatsoever  things 
are  honest,  whatsoever  things  are  just,  whatsoever 
things  are  pure  and  lovely  and  of  good  report,  if 
there  be  any  virtue,  and  if  there  be  any  praise,  think 
on  these  things."  Here  is  the  utility  of  the  beauti- 
ful. The  place,  the  sermon  and  the  ordinance  must 
all  point  to  Him  who  said  of  himself,  "I  am  the 
truth." 

II.  We  are  reminded  also,  by  this  memorial,  of 
the  Truth  of  History.  In  all  passing  events,  there  are 
two  factors,  the  human  and  the  divine.  The  former 
is  here  expressed  in  the  onrushing  power  of  the 
martial  host.  Napoleon  said,  "Victory  goes  with 
the  strongest  battalions."  But  the  man  who  writes 
history  with  this  alone  in  mind,  will  find  himself  in 
wandering  mazes  lost. 

There  are  chroniclers  who  exhaust  their  ingenuity 
in  analyzing  the  character  of  the  dramatis  per so7ice.  and 
philosophizing  about  their  motives  with  no  regard  for 


iq8  the  sun  on  gibeon. 

Deus  ex  tnachina.  They  hear  the  roll  of  wheels,  the 
stamp  of  great  hammers  with  all  the  clang  and  rattle 
of  the  vast  mechanism,  but  they  make  no  note  of 
that  Spirit  in  the  wheels,  of  which  it  is  written, 
"  Whithersoever  the  Spirit  was  to  go,  they  went ;  and 
when  they  went  it  was  as  the  voice  of  the  Almighty!  " 

"  O  blest  is  he  to  whom  is  given 
The  instinct  that  can  tell, 
That  God  is  on  the  field,  when  He 
Is  most  invisible." 

Here  is  the  constant  factor  in  the  problem.  It  was 
little  wonder  that  Napoleon  was  unable  to  divine  the 
cause  of  his  defeat  at  Waterloo.  His  great  battal- 
ions could  not  win  because  the  God  of  nations  made 
bare  his  arm  to  arrest  an  organized  assault  on  free- 
dom and  civilization.  For  a  like  reason  the  plans  of 
Philip  II  for  the  overthrow  of  Protestantism  came  to 
naught.  In  vain  were  those  mighty  galleons.  Dens 
afflavit!  God  breathed ;  and  they  were  scattered  in 
wreckage  on  a  hundred  shores.  He  who  would  write 
or  read  history  must  reckon  with  God. 

At  this  moment  the  Great  Powers  are  conferring 
as  to  affairs  in  China.  What  avengement  shall  be 
exacted  for  our  slain  missionaries?  What  disposi- 
tion shall  be  made  of  the  vast  barbaric  Empire? 
How  shall  the  spoils  be  divided  ?  But  when  diplo- 
macy has  done  its  best  and  utmost,  when  the  allied 
forces  have  sheathed  their  futile  swords,  then  we 
shall  hear  from  God.  For  it  is  true  of  nations  as  of 
men,  "  The  lot  is  cast  into  the  lap,  but  the  whole 
disposing  thereof  is  of  the  Lord." 

III.  Here  is  a  suggestion,  also,  of  the  Truth  of 
Revelation.     The  portion  of  Scripture  at  hand  shares 


THE    SUN    ON    GIBEON.  lOp 

with  the  story  of  Jonah  the  honor  of  having  provoked 
more  antagonism  among  the  destructive  critics  than 
any  other  portion  of  Holy  Writ.  A  well-known 
writer  says  in  a  recent  novel,  "  No  thinking  man  or 
woman  any  longer  believes  the  Bible  to  be  true." 
Such  delicious  assurance  as  this  is  not  uncommon 
among  the  dilettanti.  We  ministers  covet  the  privi- 
lege of  thus  dogmatizing.  I  venture,  however,  to 
assert  with  much  modesty  that  there  are  a  few  people 
still  left,  and  some  not  wholly  without  culture  and 
education,  who  believe  the  Bible  to  be  true.  Nay 
more,  there  are  those  who  say,  without  misgiving, 
that  the  heart  of  the  universal  Church,  despite  the 
discordant  voices  of  the  disloyal  few,  beats  true  to 
the  veracity  of  the  Word  of  God. 

"Do  we  then  believe  that  the  sun  stood  still  on 
Gibeon?  "  Why  not?  I  say,  "Last  night  the  sun 
went  down  in  a  blaze  of  glory.  It  was  as  if  gates  of 
ruby  opened  and  closed  in  the  West;  as  if  bars  of 
fire  and  floods  of  molten  gold  were  thrown  across 
the  sky.  It  was  a  wonderful  sunset."  But  the  voice 
of  the  objector  is  heard,  "  Hold,  the  sun  never  goes 
down!  You  should  know  that  there  is  no  such  thing 
as  a  sunset."  Well,  my  friend,  take  your  analytic 
criticism  and  be  off  with  you.  God  and  angels  and 
reasonable  men,  when  they  speak,  presume  that  their 
hearers  are  possessed  of  common  sense ;  you  have  it  not. 

We  believe  that  the  story  of  Beth-horon  is  not  a 
myth.  The  fact  that  it  is  quoted  from  Jasher,  the 
book  of  Jewish  lyrics,  does  not  signify  that  it  is  fabu- 
lous; since  the  inspired  writer  approves  and  endorses 
it.  From  the  standpoint  of  the  embattled  host  the 
sun   did  stand   still.     It  might  have   been   stated  in 


no  THE   SUN   ON   GIBEON. 

scientific  terminology;  but  the  Book  was  written  for 
all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men.  The  day  was  pro- 
longed, by  divine  interposition,  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  great  purpose  in  view.  This  is  enough; 
the  light  lingered  till  the  battle  was  won. 

IV.  Here  is  also  a  setting  forth  of  the  Truth  of 
Prayer.  All  prayer  is  in  pursuance  of  a  covenant, 
and  to  this  covenant  there  are  two  parties.  One  is 
the  man  in  yonder  chariot,  with  his  hand  uplifted  to 
the  skies.  His  plea  is  not  expressed  in  formula.  He 
is  not  "  saying  his  prayers."  The  fate  of  Israel  is  in 
the  balance,  and  the  crisis  admits  of  no  circuitous 
phrases.  The  heart's  blood  of  Joshua  is  in  his  sup- 
plication. He  cannot  pause  for  an  exordium;  but  in 
quick,  imperative  phrase,  hurls  out  his  soul  toward 
God.  Here  is  prayer;  truth  on  its  knees.  So  did 
John  Knox  plead  in  the  crisis  of  the  Reformation* 
*'  O  God,  give  me  Scotland  or  I  die  !  " 

The  other  party  to  the  covenant  is  the  God  behind 
yonder  sun.  He  meets  the  truth  of  petition  with  the 
truth  of  promise.  **  Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  you; 
seek,  and  ye  shall  find ;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened 
unto  you."  Do  you  say,  it  would  require  a  miracle 
to  answer  that  prayer?  True ;  every  answer  to  prayer 
is  in  the  nature  of  a  miracle ;  that  is,  it  arrests  the 
usual  order  of  things.  Why  should  it  not?  Do  you 
say,  "God  is  immutable"?  Yes,  but  immutability 
is  not  immobility.  God  is  not  like  the  great  stone 
face  on  the  palisades.  He  does  not  gaze  on  us  with 
the  dull  eyes  of  the  granite  sphinx.  He  "can  be 
touched  with  a  feeling  of  our  infirmities."  He  has 
eyes  to  see,  a  heart  to  pity  and  hands  to  help  those 
who  cry  unto  him. 


THE    SUN    ON    GIBEON.  Ill 

Or,  do  you  object  that  "law  is  irreversible"? 
How  do  you  know?  We  have  indeed  but  a  slight 
acquaintance  with  what  we  call  law.  Who  shall  say 
what  portion  of  God's  Code  is  held  in  reserve,  to  be 
used  on  occasion  by  the  Lawgiver  and  Administrator 
of  universal  affairs  ?  A  shop-keeper  puts  a  few  ven- 
dibles in  his  window  for  the  eyes  of  passers-by,  but 
his  stock  is  on  his  shelves  within.  So  God  has  placed 
some  of  his  laws  on  exhibition;  the  multitude  merely 
look  in  at  his  windows  and  pass  on ;  but  occasionally 
one  enters  and,  in  the  reserve  of  divine  omnipotence, 
equips  himself  for  life  and  duty. 

An  answer  to  prayer  is  always  an  expression  of 
this  divine  reserve.  It  may  be  wrought  by  the 
reversal  of  known  law,  or  more  probably  by  the 
operation  of  laws  not  otherwise  revealed  to  us.  The 
power  and  philosophy  of  prayer  are  succinctly  set 
forth  in  David's  words:  "The  heathen  raged,  the 
kingdoms  were  moved:  he  uttered  his  voice,  the 
earth  melted!  " 

"  More  things  are  wrought  by  prayer  than  this  world  dreams  of; 
For  what  are  men  better  than  sheep  and  goats, 
That  nourish  a  blind  life  within  the  brain, 
If,  knowing  God,  they  lift  not  hands  of  prayer 
But  for  themselves  and  those  who  call  them  friend? 
For  so  the  whole  round  world  is,  every  way, 
Bound  with  gold  chains  about  the  feet  of  God." 

It  will  be  granted  that,  if  necessary,  God  could 
arrest  or  reverse  the  entire  machinery  of  the  universe 
in  order  to  answer  this  prayer  of  Joshua.  To  say 
otherwise  is  to  deny  his  omnipotence;  as  it  is 
written,  "  Ye  do  err  not  knowing  the  power  of  God." 

A    step    further;    the    possibility    of    the    miracle 


112  THE    SUN    ON    GIBEON. 

being  granted,  its  probability  is  argued  from  the 
analogy  of  the  whole  journey  through  the  wilderness. 
It  began  with  the  miraculous  plagues  of  Egypt;  then 
came  the  miraculous  dividing  of  the  Red  Sea,  the 
miraculous  pillar  of  cloud  and  fire,  the  miraculous 
manna,  the  miraculous  flocks  of  quails,  the  miracU' 
lous  water  gushing  from  the  rock,  the  miraculous 
phenomena  at  Sinai,  the  miraculous  opening  of  the 
earth  to  swallow  up  Korah  and  his  followers,  the 
miraculous  fire  from  heaven  on  the  altar,  the  miracu- 
lous budding  of  Aaron's  rod,  the  miraculous  parting 
of  the  Jordan,  the  miraculous  falling  of  the  walls  of 
Jericho:  a  continuous  record  of  miracles!  And  now, 
at  this  critical  juncture,  is  not  a  miracle  the  very 
thing  to  be  expected,  in  order  that  the  forty  years  of 
supernatural  guidance  may  be  crowned  with  a  trium- 
phant consummation? 

And  the  final  step  in  the  argument  is  the  fact  that 
Scripture  so  states  it.  The  record  must  be  taken  as 
true  until  contravened.  It  is  of  slight  importance  to 
inquire  how  the  miracle  was  wrought.  Whether  God 
arrested  the  progress  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  or  laid 
his  controlling  hand  on  the  laws  of  refraction,  it  mat- 
ters not.  The  prolongation  of  the  day  for  the 
triumph  of  the  Jewish  host  is  the  matter  of  supreme 
consequence;  and  that  this  occurred,  we  believe 
because  the  Scripture  says  so;  since  we  receive  the 
Bible  as  the  Word  of  God. 

V.  Here,  finally,  is  somewhat  as  to  the  truth  in  life 
and  character.  On  September  15,  1880,  George 
Augustus  Sandham,  whom  we  memorialize  to-day, 
closed  his  earthly  life.  Those  who  loved  him  said 
sorrowfully,    *' He   is    dead!"     But,  behold,  he    yet 


THE    SUN    ON    GIBEON.  II3 

speaketh.  That  which  was  best  and  truest  in  his  life 
is  eloquent  to-day.  He  had  faults,  doubtless,  like 
others;  but  they  have  faded  from  the  memory  of 
men.  It  is  the  kind  decree  of  Providence  that  the 
best  part  of  us  shall  be  immortal.  There  is  little 
truth  in  the  saying  that  "  the  evil  a  man  does  lives 
after  him  "  while  '*  the  good  is  oft  interred  with  his 
bones."  Let  us  say  rather,  "A  charmed  life  old 
Goodness  hath  ;  the  tares  may  perish,  but  the  grain  is 
not  for  death. "  It  is  our  high  purpose,  our  noble  effort, 
our  devotion  to  God  and  goodness  that  survives  us. 
The  echoes  of  our  brave  battle  linger  in  the  valley  of 
life,  when  we  have  passed  on. 

It  is  objected  that  there  is  too  much  of  martial 
metaphor  in  recent  preaching.  Can  that  be?  Is  not 
life  strenuous,  from  beginning  to  end?  Did  not  the 
Master  say,  "I  am  come  to  bring  not  peace  but  a 
sword  "?  Is  it  not  written,  "  We  wrestle  not  against 
flesh  and  blood,  but  against  principalities,  against 
powers,  against  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this 
world,  against  spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places." 
A  true  man  finds  himself  at  war  with  himself,  beat- 
ing down  his  baseness  and  selfishness.  He  finds 
himself  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  others  in  the  over- 
throwing of  the  strongholds  of  iniquity,  in  striving  for 
the  betterment  of  our  social  life;  he  is  never  content 
until  he  has  done  his  utmost  to  make  his  own  vicinage 
a  wholesome  place  to  live  in.  And,  above  all,  if  he  be 
an  earnest  man  and  true,  he  lends  a  hand  in  the  great 
propaganda  for  the  setting  up  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 
Thus  the  life  well  lived  is  a  campaign  of  battles,  clear 
to  heaven's  gate;  where  veterans,  hard  spent,  put  off 
their  armor,  lay  by  their  arms,  and  enter  into  rest. 


114  THE    SUN    ON    GIBEON. 

In  this  portrayal  of  the  historic  battle  on  Beth- 
horon,  the  one  commonplace  feature  is  that  which  at 
first  seems  strangest;  to  wit,  the  miracle.  For  the 
sun  that  shines  upon  the  pathway  of  a  heroic  life 
never  goes  down.  The  stars  in  heaven  fight  against 
Sisera,  always.  The  man  in  the  chariot  has  power, 
through  faith  in  omnipotence,  to  arrest  the  oncoming 
of  any  night.  Thus  it  is  written,  ''Thy  sun  shall  no 
more  go  down,  neither  shall  thy  moon  withdraw  it- 
self, for  the  Lord  shall  be  thine  everlasting  light." 
Here  is  the  groundwork  of  our  assurance:  "God  is 
our  refuge  and  our  strength;  therefore  will  we  not 
fear  though  the  earth  be  removed  and  though  the 
mountains  be  carried  into  the  midst  of  the  sea! " 

It  is  recorded,  that  when  the  New  Hampshire 
troops  set  out  on  their  campaign  against  Louisburg, 
they  were  presented  with  a  banner  by  George  Whit- 
field, on  which  was  inscribed  Nil  desperanduin  Christo 
sub  duce.  Here  is  a  watchword  for  earnest  souls. 
There  is  no  possibility  of  failure  when  the  Lord  goes 
with  us;  and  his  promise  is  yea  and  amen:  "All 
power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth;  go 
ye,  therefore;  and  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway  even  unto 
the  end  of  the  world!  " 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  THAT  WAY 

"And  the  same  time  there  arose  no  small  stir  about  that  way." — Acts 

The  reference  here  is  to  the  followers  of  Christ. 
As  yet  they  had  no  distinctive  title.  The  Lord  called 
them  "disciples."  They  spoke  of  themselves  as 
"brethren."  The  people  nicknamed  them  "  Nazar- 
enes,"  and,  further  on,  "Christians."  Blessed  name, 
given  in  derision  but  kept  through  centuries  as  a 
badge  of  honor!  For  the  time  being,  however,  they 
were  an  anonymous  folk.  The  common  mode  of 
referring  to  them  was  as  here  indicated :  they  were 
the  people  of  "  that  way." 

The  term  was  not  without  significance.  It  indi- 
cated a  departure  from  the  beaten  track,  an  innova- 
tion, a  distinct  case  of  non-conformity.  The  "  way  " 
of  these  people  was  an  unusual  way. 

I.  It  was  a  new  Way  of  Thinking;  that  is,  with 
reference  to  spiritual  things.  There  are  some  relig- 
ious ideas  which  are  so  universally  entertained  that 
they  are  justly  regarded  as  intuitions.  One  of  these 
is  the  concept  of  God.  There  are  no  atheists  in 
the  world.  Everybody  believes  in  God.  The  very 
Pantheons  of  the  heathen  show,  back  of  all  vain 
images,  a  dim  apprehension  of  the  infinite,  eternal 
and  unchangeable  One. 

(lis) 


H6  THE  PEOPLE  OF  THAT   WAY. 

And  another  of  these  intuitions  is  the  concept 
of  man.  There  is  a  bridgeless  gulf  between  man  and 
all  the  lower  orders  of  life.  And  this  is  manifest  not 
merely  among  those  who  formulate  the  proposition 
"  Cogito,  ergo  sufn,"  but  among  all  sorts  and  conditions 
of  men.  The  rudest  barbarian  knows  that  there  is  a 
generic  difference  between  himself  and  all  four-footed 
or  creeping  things.  His  fetich  tells  him  that  he  is  akin 
with  the  supernatural.  He  vaguely  perceives  his  divine 
birth,  the  infinite  possibilities  of  his  life  and  character, 
and  his   destiny  stretching  on  through  eternal  aeons. 

As  to  these  fundamental  facts  there  is  no  differ- 
ence; but  at  this  point  Christianity  introduces  a  new 
thought;  to  wit,  the  God-man.  The  doctrine  of  the 
Incarnation  is  peculiar  to  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  The 
word  is  familiar  toother  religions;  but  Christianity 
alone  has  realized  it.  The  Orientals,  feeling  their 
way  blindly,  brought  God  down  to  the  human  level; 
the  result  was  Pantheism.  The  Occidentals,  on  the 
other  hand,  endeavoring  to  exalt  man  to  the  divine 
level,  produced  the  Pantheon,  and,  laughing  in  each 
others'  faces  at  the  imposition,  landed  in  Rationalism. 
But  the  Gospel  presents  an  actual  incarnation  in  the 
person  of  Jesus  Christ:  not  a  theophany  nor  yet  an 
apotheosis ;  not  God  dwelling  in  man  nor  man  deified ; 
but  Godhood  and  manhood  woven  together  as  warp 
and  woof  in  one  inseparable  fabric.  He  abides,  soli- 
tary and  alone,  Theanthropos:  ''very  God  of  very 
God  "  and,  none  the  less,  "  very  Man  of  very  Man." 
Here,  at  the  manger  in  Bethlehem,  we  find  the  differ- 
entiating thought  of  our  religion:  "Great  is  the 
mystery  of  godliness,  God  is  manifest  in  flesh."  The 
angels  desire  to  look  into  it. 


THE   PEOPLE   OF    THAT    WAY.  117 

II.  We  find  here,  also,  the  suggestion  of  a  new 
JVay  of  Returning  to  God.  All  men  believe  in  sin. 
How  could  it  be  otherwise,  since  "they  which  have 
not  the  law,  are  a  law  unto  themselves,  showing  the 
work  of  the  law  written  in  their  hearts,  their  con- 
science also  bearing  witness,  and  their  thoughts  the 
meanwhile  accusing  or  else  excusing  one  another"? 

And  along  with  this  universal  thought  of  sin  goes 
the  corresponding  thought  of  retribution.  These  are 
to  each  other  as  cause  and  effect.  There  is  in  some 
quarters  a  disposition  to  eliminate  the  idea  of  retribu- 
tion from  modern  religion;  but,  were  it  accomplished, 
there  is  not  a  false  religion  on  earth  which  would  not 
lift  up  its  voice  in  protest.  Christianity  has  no  copy- 
right on  the  announcement,  "The  soul  that  sinneth, 
it  shall  die."  The  old-time  Furies  followed  the  sin- 
ner with  woolshod  feet.  The  beak  of  Remorse  was 
in  the  heart  of  Prometheus.  Sisyphus  pursued  his 
wageless  task.  Ixion  ground  forever  on  the  wheel. 
We  say  Longfellow  wrote, 

"The  mills  of  God   grind   slowly,  but   they  grind  exceeding 
small; 
Though    with   patience   he   stands   waiting,    with  exactness 
grinds  he  all." 

But  Longfellow  borrowed  it  from  the   Sinngedichte 

of  the  Germans ;  and  they  from  the  old  star-worshipers : 

"  God's  mills  grind  slow, 
But  they  grind  woe." 

The  doctrine  of  Karma  as  held  by  the  Buddhists  is 
indistinguishable  from  the  Bible  statement,  "What- 
soever a  man  sovveth,  that  shall  he  also  reap." 

But  Christianity  goes  a  step  further  :  It  holds  not 
merely  to  the  doctrine  of  sin  and  the  complementary 


Il8  THE    PEOPLE   OF    THAT    WAY. 

doctrine  of  retribution,  in  common  with  all  religions, 
but  it  suggests  a  new  truth,  found  nowhere  else  ; 
namely,  the  possibility  of  Pardon. 

Here  is  the  problem  :  How  shall  God  be  just  and 
yet  the  justifier  of  the  ungodly  ?  And  this  problem 
is  solved  at  Calvary  ?  "  Come  now,  saith  the  Lord, 
let  us  reason  together  ;  though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet, 
they  shall  be  white  as  snow." 

Let  the  matter  be  clearly  stated  :  There  are  sug- . 
gestions  in  other  religions  as  to  right  plans  of  living, 
as  to  methods  of  personal  reformation,  as  to  merit- 
making  and  works  of  supererogation,  but  nowhere 
else  but  in  Christianity  is  a  rational  plan  proposed 
for  the  pardon  of  sin.  This  has  been  called  "the 
religion  of  blood."  So  be  it  :  "the  Lamb  slain 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world"  is  set  forth  in 
every  sacrifice  that  was  ever  laid  upon  an  altar. 
"The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  us  from  all 
sin."  And  the  rationale  of  this  cleansing  lies  in  the 
fact  that  Christ,  by  his  death,  has  expiated  our  sin. 
Thus  the  great  problem  is  solved  and  man  is  recon- 
ciled with  God.  At  the  moment  when  Christ,  bear- 
ing our  sins  in  his  body  on  the  cross,  cried,  "It  is 
finished!"  the  veil  of  the  temple  near  by  was  "rent 
in  sunder  from  the  top  to  the  bottom,"  indicating, 
as  Paul  says,  that  "a  new  and  living  way  is  conse- 
crated for  us  "  through  the  veil,  that  is  to  say,  his 
flesh,  whereby  we  may  enter  into  the  holiest  by  the 
blood  of  Jesus  "  (Heb.  lo,  19,  20). 

in.  Our  text,  still  further,  suggests  a  new  and 
unusual  Way  of  Feeling  It  is  written,  "Love  is  the 
fulfilling  of  the  law;  "  but  Christianity  is  not  the  only 
religion  of  love.     Our  Lord  summed  up  the  entire 


THE   PEOPLE   OF    THAT    WAY.  1 19 

law  in  two  precepts,  "Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy 
God,"  and  "Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor."  But 
these  requirements,  in  one  form  or  another,  are  com- 
mon to  all  religions. 

All  men  know  that,  inasmuch  as  they  live  and 
move  and  have  their  being  in  God,  they  are  bound  to 
love  him.  And  they  know,  also,  that  for  mutual 
security,  if  for  no  better  reason,  they  are  bound  to 
love  one  another.  Christ  does  not  claim  originality 
for  the  Golden  Rule.  The  fact  was  recently  empha- 
sized by  Wu-Ting-Fang,the  Chinese  Ministerat  Wash- 
ington, that  this  rule  is  to  be  found  in  the  Analects 
of  Confucius,  though  in  negative  form :  "Thou  shalt 
not  do  unto  others  what  thou  wouldst  not  have  them 
do  unto  thee." 

So  far,  all  journey  by  the  same  path.  But  just 
here  is  the  point  of  divergence  :  Christianity  pro- 
poses a  new  motive  for  love.  The  people  who  are 
of  "  this  Way,"  are  to  love  God  "because  he  first 
loved  them."  And  the  preeminent  token  of  his  love 
is  herein  :  "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his 
only  begotten  Son  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him 
should  not  perish  but  have  eternal  life."  And  again, 
the  supreme  motive  of  love  toward  one's  fellow  men 
is  not  because  all  are  members  of  one  household  but 
because  Christ  died  for  all.  There  is  not  a  drab  or 
a  drunkard  reeling  through  the  streets,  not  a  thief 
or  evil-doer  anywhere,  not  a  barbarian  by  the  banks 
of  the  Congo,  who  does  not  appeal  to  every  follower 
of  Christ  as  being  a  participant  in  the  grace  that  was 
manifested  in  the  sacrifice  of  the  cross.  Here  is  the 
groundwork  of  all  Christian  missions,  of  missions  in 
the  slums,   on  the  frontiers  and  among  those  who 


I20  THE    PEOPLE    OF    THAT    WAY. 

dwell  in  the  regions  of  darkness  and  the  shadow  of 
death.  Christ  died  for  all!  Wherefore,  in  loyalty 
to  Christ,  we  go  forth  with  the  evangel  as  "fishers 
of  men." 

IV.  And  here  is  indicated  an  unusual  JVay  of 
Forming  Character.  All  are  agreed  that  the  basis  of 
character  is  the  Moral  Law:  and  as  to  this  matter 
the  Bible  enters  no  exclusive  claim.  It  is  true  that 
the  one  flawless  and  complete  ethical  symbol  is  the 
Decalogue;  yet  there  is  no  false  religion  which  does 
not  present  more  or  less  imperfectly  the  same  system 
of  ethics.  Buddhism  and  Brahmanism  have  an 
elaborate  code  of  morality;  the  Analects  of  Confu- 
cius are  nothing  but  ethics.  And  the  mode  of  pro- 
cedure in  building  character,  by  common  consent 
the  world  over,  is  to  line  up  to  the  Law. 

And  all  men  have  an  ideal  of  character.  Plato's 
Dikaios,  or  just  man,  was  constructed  by  borrowing 
the  best  from  the  characters  of  many  who  were 
esteemed  to  be  good  men. 

But  here  occurs  the  cleavage:  Christianity  offers 
not  merely  rules  of  conduct,  nor  merely  an  ideal,  but 
a  living  Exemplar,  by  imitating  whom  we  may  grow 
to  the  stature  of  perfect  men.  Dikaios  was  a  figment 
of  Plato's  imagination:  but  Christ  is  no  dream.  He 
lived  among  men,  walked  our  highways,  mingled  in 
our  pursuits,  shared  in  our  toils  and  sufferings.  He 
was  made  in  all  points  as  we  are,  only  without  sin. 
The  world  bows  reverently  before  him  as  the  one 
perfect  Man.  Ecce  hojiio !  "Who  layeth  anything  to 
his  charge  ?  The  verdict  of  the  centuries  is,  in  the 
language  of  the  judge  who  sentenced  him  to  death, 
*'  I  find  no  fault  in  him  at  all." 


THE    PEOPLE   OF     THAT    WAY.  121 

It  is  a  singular  fact  that  the  most  popular  book  of 
our  time,  next  to  the  Bible,  is  one  which  is  generally 
conceded  to  have  no  literary  merit  whatever.  Its 
plot  is  puerile,  its  main  proposition  is  defective,  its 
execution  is  crude,  it  is  lacking  in  every  quality  that 
ordinarily  commends  a  book  to  reviewers:  yet  it  has 
found  millions  of  readers.  How  shall  the  popularity 
of  this  book,  "  In  His  Steps,"  be  accounted  for?  By 
the  fact  that  it  responds  to  the  universal  longing  for 
an  Exemplar,  one  who,  exhibiting  the  graces  of  blame- 
less character,  shall  make  clear  to  us  what  manhood 
ought  to  be.  The  book,  strained  as  it  is,  points  out 
a  plain  path  of  spiritual  progress  and  casts  a  hopeful 
sidelight  on  every  earnest  effort  to  attain  to  better 
things.  It  is  an  amplification  of  Paul's  saying, 
"  Reaching  forth  unto  those  things  which  are  before, 
I  press  toward  the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high 
calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus  ":  and  again,  "  Look- 
ing unto  Jesus  the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith; 
who,  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  him,  endured 
the  cross,  despising  the  shame,  and  is  set  down  at 
the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  God." 

V.  We  observe  here,  also,  the  suggestion  of  a 
new  and  effective  Way  of  Making  Life  Tell.  There  is 
no  difference  of  opinion  in  the  world  as  to  the  impor- 
tance of  a  vocation.  A  man  must  have  some  visible 
means  of  livelihood;  else  he  is  a  mere  cumberer  of 
the  ground.  The  saying,  "  If  any  man  will  not 
work,  neither  let  him  eat,"  is  not  peculiar  to  Chris- 
tianity. The  only  men  who  are  worth  counting  in  a 
moral  census  are  "business  men." 

We  meet  them  in  the  thronged  street;  honest 
toilers  intent  on  gaining  a  livelihood,  fortune  seekers, 


122  THE    PEOPLE   OF     THAT    WAY, 

devotees  of  pleasure  asking  nothing  but  to  squeeze 
the  orange  of  life,  and  still  others  with  covetous  eyes 
set  on  high  honor  and  emolument.  They  are  the 
same  everywhere.  You  will  meet  them  on  the  streets 
of  Bombay,  of  Hong  Kong,  of  Constantinople,  as 
well  as  in  Christian  cities.  Thus  far  there  is  no 
difference. 

But  Christ  introduced  a  new  purpose  in  life. 
He  led  his  disciples  out  to  the  slopes  of  the  moun- 
tain and  called  their  attention  to  another  sort  of 
business:  "Consider  the  fowls  of  the  air,"  he  said; 
"  they  sow  not,  neither  do  they  reap  nor  gather  into 
barns,  yet  your  heavenly  Father  feedeth  them." 
What  then?  Consume  not  your  lives  in  anxious 
thought  for  a  livelihood ;  but  seek  ye  first  of  all  the 
kingdom!  And  again,  "Consider  the  lilies  of  the 
field ;  they  toil  not  neither  do  they  spin,  yet  I  say 
unto  you  that  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  not 
arrayed  like  one  of  these."  What  then  ?  Take  no 
anxious  thought  for  life's  common  needs;  but  with 
due  regard  for  thrift  and  industry  leave  these  to  God 
and  seek  ye  first  of  all  the  kingdom! 

What  is  this  work  of  the  kingdom?  It  is  to  do 
good  as  we  have  opportunity  unto  all  men  and  in 
everything  to  glorify  God.  It  is  to  seek  the  common 
welfare  and  do  one's  utmost  to  make  the  world  a 
better  place  to  live  in.  It  is  to  fall  in  with  all  true 
progress  and  hasten  the  coming  of  the  Golden  Age. 
The  world  is  content  to  seek  success,  as  Carlyle  says, 
"  by  doing  one  thing  and  doing  it  well;  "  but  the 
Christian  must  needs  do  two  things  and  do  both 
well.  And  the  infinitely  more  important  of  these  is 
the  work   of   the  kingdom;    that    is,   to    deliver  the 


THE    PEOPLE    OF    THAT    WAY.  1 23 

world   from  sin  and    bind    it  again    "as  with  gold 
chains  about  the  feet  of  God." 

And  for  this  work  of  the  kingdom  a  promise  is 
given,  of  the  enduement  of  power,  in  the  bestowal  of 
the  influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Christ  "breathed 
on  his  disciples,  saying,  'Receive  ye  the  Holy 
Ghost.'" 

The  Holy  Ghost  is  the  Executive  of  the  Dispen- 
sation under  which  we  are  living.  The  world  know- 
eth  him  not  ;  but  his  influence  is  our  vital  air.  He 
who  honors  the  Holy  Ghost  is  like  Samson  in  cove- 
nant vows;  he  who  honors  him  not  is  shorn  of  his 
locks  and  weak  as  other  men.  I  have  here  two 
needles  :  one  of  them,  when  placed  upon  a  pivot, 
swings  hither  and  yon  where  it  will;  the  other  trem- 
bles for  a  moment,  then  points  unerringly  due  North. 
This  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  latter  has  been 
magnetized.  A  like  difference  is  manifest  between 
those  who  have  received  the  influence  of  the  Spirit 
and  those  who  have  not  received  it.  A  true  Chris- 
tian has  touched  the  great  Dynamo,  and  has  been 
thrilled  through  and  through  with  a  divine  current 
of  energy.  This  is  a  real  enduement  of  power,  a 
true  and  abiding  fitness  for  life. 

VI.  We  observe,  finally,  the  suggestion  of  a  new 
Way  of  Facing  the  Future.  All  agree  as  to  the  cer- 
tainty of  death.  "  The  black  camel  kneels  at  every 
tent."  Nor  is  there  any  divergence  of  view  as  to  the 
certainty  of  judgment.  This  is  inscribed  on  the 
bricks  of  old  Nineveh,  and  written  on  the  byssus- 
bands  of  the  mummies  of  Egypt  :  "God  hath  ap- 
pointed a  day  in  which  he  will  judge  the  world  in 
righteousness."     And,    still    further,    all    are    aware 


124  THE   PEOPLE   OF    THAT    WAY, 

that  they  must  enter   the  same  plea,  "Guilty,"  on 
that  day.     What  then  ? 

At  this  point — where  the  multitude  stands  fearing 
and  trembling  at  the  great  Assize,  judged,  con- 
demned and  ready  for  sentence — the  Gospel  proposes 
a  hope  of  deliverance:  a  hope  which  is  entertained 
by  the  people  of  "that  Way."  Itiswritten:  "  If  any 
man  sin,  we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father,  even 
Jesus  Christ  the  righteous."  He  stands  forth  in  their 
behalf,  the  holy,  harmless,  undefiled  Son  of  God. 
He  pleads  the  sufferings  which  he  endured  in  their 
stead ;  and  they  believe  that,  because  he  bore  the 
chastisement  of  their  sins,  they  shall  go  forever  free. 
And  then,  eternity.  "So  shall  we  be  forever  with 
the  Lord."  We  have  no  misgivings  as  to  what  awaits 
us.  An  effort  is  being  made  by  some  of  our  advanced 
thinkers  to  furnish  a  scientific  demonstration  of 
immortality.  They  are  experimenting  in  laboratories, 
listening  at  strange  oracles,  investigating  psychic 
phenomena.  But  we  have  no  need  to  await  their 
conclusions:  for  our  faith  reposes  in  him  who  said, 
"  In  my  Father's  house  are  many  mansions ;  if  it  were 
not  so  I  would  have  told  you.  I  go  to  prepare  a  place 
for  you,"  and  who  prayed  in  our  behalf;  "  Father,  I 
will  that  they  also  whom  thou  hast  given  me,  be  with 
me  where  I  am ;  that  they  may  behold  my  glory,  the 
glory  which  I  had  with  thee  before  the  world  was." 

This  is  The  Way ;  walk  ye  in  it.  It  is  the  old  way ; 
"the  way  the  holy  prophets  went,  the  way  that  leads 
from  banishment. "  It  is  the  only  way  of  salvation ; 
as  Jesus  said,  "  I  am  the  Way,  the  Truth  and  the 
Life;  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  me." 
It  is  the  way  of  peace  and  holiness.     It  is  the  way 


THE    PEOPLE    OF    THAT    WAY.  I25 

out  of  troifble  and  into  blessedness.  It  begins  at  the 
cross,  where  we  receive  Christ  crucified  as  Prophet, 
Priest  and  King;  and  it  ends  at  heaven's  gate.  By 
this  Way  let  us  journey  until,  with  all  the  ransomed 
of  the  Lord,  we  come  to  Zion  with  songs  and  ever- 
lasting joy  upon  our  heads. 


HAS  THE  QUALITY  OF  CHRISTIANITY 
DETERIORATED  IN  RECENT  TIMES? 

"God  is  in  tlie  midst  of  her,  she  shall  not  be  moved."— Psalm  46,  5. 

In  the  summing  up  of  the  progress  of  the  Nine- 
teenth Century  there  is  but  one  discordant  note.  All 
agree  as  to  the  wonderful  results  of  scientific  research. 
The  man  in  the  laboratory,  the  man  with  the  tele- 
scope and  the  man  with  the  spade  have  all  made 
splendid   contributions  to  the  world's  encyclopedia. 

In  the  political  world  there  have  been  marvelous 
changes.  The  balance  of  power  has  shifted,  like  a 
drop  of  quicksilver  on  a  geographer's  chart.  Our 
own  country  has  developed  from  a  petty  settlement 
of  five  millions  to  a  foremost  place  among  the  nations. 
Ethiopia  is  stretching  forth  her  hands,  and  the 
Mongol    races   are    pushing  to  the  front. 

Not  less  remarkable  have  been  the  changes  in  the 
industrial  world.  The  man  who  writes  the  history  of 
the  Nineteenth  Century  will  call  it  The  Age  of  New 
Forces;  of  new  forces  and  new  application  of  force. 
The  world's  capital  has  been  vastly  multiplied,  and 
the  sum  total  of  its  industry  has  increased  propor- 
tionately. The  relation  of  employer  to  employee 
has  been  so  modified  that,  whereas  the  rights  of 
capital   are   recognized,   the   handicraftsman   is   far 

(126) 


HAS  THE  QUALITY  OF  CHRISTIANITY  DETERIORATED  ?    1 27 

more  a  man  than  he  was  a  hundred  years  ago.  Wel- 
come the  better  order  of  things !  Ring  out  the  old, 
ring  in  the  new! 

And  we  observe  a  corresponding  change  in  the 
province  of  the  liberal  arts  and  humanities.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  century  one  man  in  every  eight  of 
the  entire  population  was  a  pauper.  There  were 
then  two  hundred  and  twenty-three  offenses  which 
were  punished  with  death  on  the  gallows,  from 
homicide  to  killing  a  hare  in  a  game  preserve.  Laws 
are  less  punitive  and  more  reformatory  than  they 
used  to  be.  John  Howard  and  Elizabeth  Frye  have 
not  lived  in  vain.  All  along  the  path  of  the  advanc- 
ing years  institutions  of  mercy,  of  education  and  of 
social  security  have  sprung  up  as  if  by  magic. 

Thus  around  the  whole  horizon  of  the  century 
the  record  of  progress  has  been  unbroken  save  at  a 
single  point  :  it  is  alleged  that  the  quality  of  Christian- 
ity has  beefi  steadily  deteriorating.  Here  is  the  fly  in  the 
ointment.  Here  is  the  only  interruption  in  the 
exultant  paean.  At  this  point  the  joyous  chronicler 
strikes  the  minor  note. 

Is  it  true  ?  Has  the  standard  of  Christian  charac- 
ter been  lowered  in  the  progress  of  the  years  ?  It 
might  indeed  have  been  looked  for  as  the  normal 
result  of  the  inclusive  policy  of  the  church.  Time 
was  when  candidates  for  church  membership  were  re- 
quired to  pass  through  a  low  wicket-gate  after  a  season 
of  careful  and  prayerful  preparation.  Now  the  doors 
are  wide  open.  The  drag-net  encloses  a  great  mul- 
titude of  fishes  of  every  kind,  good  and  bad.  And, 
once  within  the  church,  there  is  little  danger  of  dis- 
cipline.    Stern  measures  have  gone  out  of  fashion. 


128     HAS  THE  QUALITY  OF  CHRISTIANITY  DETERIORATED? 

This  plan  of  inclusion  has  been  in  operation  so  long 
that  the  average  of  Christian  faith  and  character 
might  well  be  lowered.  For,  let  it  be  remembered, 
the  church  has  increased  in  numbers  threefold  during 
the  last  hundred  years.  Nevertheless,  I  do  not 
believe  that  the  quality  of  personal  religion  has 
deteriorated.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  reason  to 
think  that  the  average  is  higher  than  ever.  And  we 
reach  this  opinion  by  the  application  of  conclusive 
tests. 

First  :  the  Ministerial  Test.  "  Like  priest,  like 
people."  It  is  freely  asserted  that  the  standard  of 
common  honesty  among  ministers  has  been  greatly 
reduced  by  an  increasing  disregard  for  the  sanctity 
of  the  ordination  vow.  It  is  alleged  that  many  of 
them,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  they  stand  sol- 
emnly pledged  to  an  acceptance  of  the  Scriptures  as 
true,  are  accustomed  without  scruple  to  hold  and 
teach  that  those  same  Scriptures  are  a  collection  of 
mingled  truth  and  falsehood,  far  less  trustworthy 
than  most  of  the  reputable  books  in  current  litera- 
ture. It  is  charged  that  these  ministers  have  a  ter- 
minology of  their  own,  which  they  employ  as 
counterfeiters  use  spurious  coin  ;  that  is  by  putting 
new  meanings  into  old  words  they  conceal  the  real 
purport  of  their  thought.  For  example,  such  words 
as  Truth,  Inspiration,  Incarnation,  Divinity,  Atone- 
ment, Vicarious,  Resurrection  ;  words  which  have 
been  in  use  for  centuries,  with  a  meaning  so  clearly 
and  universally  understood  that  to  use  them  in  any 
other  sense,  without  explanation,  would  be  indeed  in 
the  nature  of  uttering  base  coin.  It  is  urged,  that  in 
consequence  of  this  perversion  of  language  it  is  im- 


HAS  THE  QUALITY  OF  CHRISTIANITY  DETERIORATED?     1 29 

possible  to  understand  what  some  preachers  mean 
when  they  say,  "I  believe  that  the  Scriptures  are 
inspired,"  or  "  I  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  was  con- 
ceived by  the  Holy  Ghost,"  or  "  I  believe  that  his 
blood  cleanseth  from  all  sin,"  The  intimation  is  that 
by  such  evasion  of  solemn  vows  and  such  perversion 
of  language  the  level  of  common  honesty  has  been 
reduced  among  the  ministry  to  a  level  far  below  that 
of  the  market-place.  If  this  were  true,  it  would  in- 
deed be  a  most  serious  accusation  ;  but  it  is  distinct- 
ly not  true. 

No  doubt  there  are  ministers  against  whom  such 
offences  may  be  justly  alleged  ;  but  shall  the  great 
body  of  honest,  self-respecting  pastors  be  placarded 
by  reason  of  the  misdoings  of  a  certain  few  ?  There 
never  was  a  time  in  history  when  the  pulpit  was  not 
invaded  by  unworthy  men.  How  the  Lord  thundered 
against  the  false  priests  and  prophets  of  the  olden 
time  ;  the  "  idol  shepherds  "  who  led  their  flocks  into 
the  wilderness  to  die  !  What  fierce  fulminations  of 
wrath  were  uttered  against  those  who  made  their  holy 
ofRce  an  occasion  of  self-emolument.  The  offense  is 
as  old  as  the  story  of  Eli's  recreant  sons  who  "  struck 
the  flesh  hook  into  the  caldron  and  brought  up  for 
themselves."  Did  not  the  Lord  himself  speak  of 
"wolves  in  sheep's  clothing  "  and  of  "  the  hireling 
who  careth  not  for  the  sheep  "  ?  Were  not  the  early 
Christians  warned  against  false  teachers  who  should 
bring  reproach  upon  the  Cross  and  deceive  the  very 
elect  ?  They  were  likened  to  "  clouds  without  water 
carried  about  by  winds  " ;  "trees  whose  fruit  wither- 
eth,  without  fruit,  twice  dead,  plucked  up  by  the 
roots";  and  to   "wandering  stars,   to    whom  is    re- 


130     HAS  THE  QUALITY  OF  CHRISTIANITY  DETERIORATED? 

served  the  blackness  of  darkness  forever."  They 
were  characterized  as  lepers,  sitting  at  the  feasts  of 
charity,  feeding  themselves  without  fear.  Nay, 
there  is  nothing  singular  in  this  condition  of  things. 
There  have  always  been  and,  while  sin  abides,  will 
ever  be  unscrupulous  men  in  the  company  of  the 
prophets,  "  stealing  the  livery  of  heaven  to  serve  the 
devil  in." 

But  these  are  relatively  few  and  far  between.  It 
is  an  old  saying  that  "three  bad  boys  can  ruin  the 
reputation  of  any  school."  In  like  manner  a  few 
men  in  holy  orders,  holding  with  Hudibras  that 
"oaths  are  but  words  and  words  but  wind,"  may 
cast  reproach,  and  do  indeed,  upon  the  entire  min- 
istry. I  beg  to  say,  hov/ever,  after  thirty  years  in 
this  fellowship,  that  my  respect  for  my  brethren  as  a 
body  of  strong,  manly,  consecrated,  honest  men, 
increases  from  day  to  day.  They  lead  as  never  before 
the  moral  sentiment  of  the  world.  In  every  crusade 
for  genuine  reform  in  social  or  political  life  their 
power  is  felt  as  was  that  of  the  priests  who  bore  the 
rams'  horns  before  the  procession  that  compassed  the 
walls  of  Jericho.  And  they  are  scrupulous  as  to 
their  personal  lives  beyond  all  the  precedent  of 
former  days.  The  dicing,  bibulous,  fox-hunting 
parson  of  a  hundred  years  ago  is  out  of  vogue.  The 
evangelical  pastor  of  to-day  is  remarkably  careful 
to  keep  his  garments  unspotted  from  the  world. 
While  making  note  of  all  exceptions  I  still  insist  that 
evangelical  ministers  as  a  body,  are  in  point  of  moral 
character  and  influence,  far  beyond  the  pattern  of  all 
former  days. 

Let  us  apply,  secondly,  the  Doctrmal  Test.     I  am 


HAS  THE  QUALITY  OF  CHRISTIANITY  DETERIORATED?     I3I 

aware  of  the  fact  that  in  certain  quarters  there  is  a 
disposition  to  minimize  the  importance  of  truth. 
The  cry  is  raised,  "  Christianity  is  not  dogma  but 
life."  But  the  average  man  is  wise  enough  to  see 
through  this  diaphanous  sophism ;  he  understands 
that  life  is  founded  on  truth,  since  "as  a  man 
thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he."  One  of  the  common 
maladies  of  our  time  is  Credophobia.  Yet  no 
thoughtful  man  is  unaware  of  the  fact  that  credo  is  a 
word  of  tremendous  power  in  the  building  of  char- 
acter. A  creed  is  a  collection  of  dogmas;  and  a 
dogma  is  merely  the  formulation  of  a  truth.  There 
is  no  "  if  "  in  the  vocabulary  of  truth:  only  Yea  and 
Amen.  So  long  as  men  merely  guess,  they  do  not 
dogmatize;  but  the  moment  a  man  says,  "  I  know," 
he  becomes  a  dogmatist;  yet,  by  that  same  token,  he 
is  more  than  ever  a  man.  Then,  too,  it  is  the  fashion 
of  some  people  to  sneer  at  "orthodoxy."  The  old 
word  has  had  its  coat  turned  inside  out  and  its  face 
smeared  with  phosphorus,  and  has  been  placed  in 
the  pillory  as  a  gazingstock;  and,  alas!  thoughtless 
people  pass  by  with  averted  faces. 

But  here,  again,  there  is  nothing  novel  in  the 
situation.  There  never  has  been  a  time  in  history 
when  truth,  dogma  or  orthodoxy  was  popular.  Did 
not  Isaiah  lament,  "Who  hath  believed  our  report 
and  to  whom  is  the  arm  of  the  Lord  revealed  ?  "  Did 
not  the  apostles  accuse  the  people  of  "  having  itching 
ears";  that  is,  of  giving  their  attention  to  strange 
and  false  teachings  ?  It  is  not  strange  that  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Atonement  is  repellent  to  many  people 
in  our  times.  Paul  spoke  of  it  as  foolishness  to  some 
and  a  stumbling-block  to  others;  but  he  added,  "We 


132      HAS  THE  QUALITY  OF  CHRISTIANITY  DETERIORATED? 

preach   Christ   crucified,   to   them   that   believe   the 
wisdom  and  the  power  of  God." 

Let  us  go  further  and  assert  that  truth  gets  a 
better  hearing  to-day  than  ever  before  in  the  history 
of  the  world.  The  bold  assaults  which  are  made  on 
all  cardinal  doctrines  are  in  evidence.  The  persistent 
and  malignant  attack  upon  the  Scriptures  as  the  cita- 
del of  our  religion  is  also  in  evidence.  Men  do  not 
trouble  themselves  to  lay  siege  to  ruined  cities  or 
make  charges  on  graveyards.  It  is  conceded  that 
many  have  been  led  away  from  the  truth, — led  into  a 
denial  not  of  inspiration  only  but  of  other  cardinal 
doctrines  of  Christianity, — by  such  specious  and  per- 
sistent assaults.  But  let  us  withhold  our  tears.  I 
will  not  join  Elijah  under  his  juniper  tree.  God 
reigns  and  the  ark  of  his  covenant  is  safe!  It  is  infi- 
nitely far  from  the  truth  to  say  that  Christians  as  a 
rule  have  abandoned  the  Scriptures  or  any  of  the 
landmarks  of  historic  truth.  "What  doest  thou 
here,  Elijah  ?  "  And  he  answered,  "  O  Lord  my  God, 
thy  people  have  forsaken  thy  covenant,  thrown  down 
thy  altars  and  slain  thy  prophets  with  the  sword  ; 
and  I,  even  I  only,  am  left  !  "  And  the  Lord  said, 
"Not  so!  I  have  left  me  seven  thousand  in  Israel 
who  have  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal." 

Let  us,  thirdly,  apply  the  Ethical  Test.  It  is  said 
that  the  Decalogue  is  gone  out  of  fashion ;  and  in 
some  quarters  this  may  be  true.  Great  liberties  are 
taken  with  God  nowadays  and  with  his  holy  law. 
It  is  not  uncommon  to  hear  it  said,  for  example,  that 
the  Fourth  Commandment  has  been  abrogated.  The 
wish  is  father  to  the  thought.  The  Sunday  news- 
paper and  Sunday  amusements  have  much  to  account 


HAS  THE  QUALITY  OF  CHRISTIANITY  DETERIORATED?      1 33 

for.  It  is  said,  also,  that  the  Seventh  Commandment 
has  lost  much  of  its  binding  force.  There  is  a  cer- 
tain "set"  in  which,  if  rumor  can  be  trusted,  a  man's 
position  is  not  definitely  assured  until  he  has  been 
properly  accredited  in  a  Police  Court  and  vouched 
for  by  a  co-respondent.  It  is  asserted,  in  general 
terms,  that  the  line  between  the  church  and  the 
world  is  obliterated  in  these  days.  It  was  once  a 
bridgeless  gulf;  it  is  now  a  broad,  invisible  line,  like 
that  of  the  Tropics,  over  which  a  man  steps  without 
knowing  it.  One  of  the  most  familiar  and  thumb- 
worn  of  our  epigrams  runs  on  this  wise:  "This  is  a 
good  church  to  belong  to,  because  it  does  not  inter- 
fere with  a  man's  politics  or  religion."  It  need 
scarcely  be  said  that  the  intimation  is  not  true;  the 
sorrow  is  that  it  should  contain  even  so  slight  a 
modicum  of  truth  as  that  men  should  tolerate  and 
smile  at  it. 

Let  it  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  this  condi- 
tion is  peculiar  to  our  time.  It  was  three  thousand 
years  ago  that  the  Lord  said  to  church  members, 
"  To  what  purpose  is  the  multitude  of  your  sacrifices 
unto  me  ?  I  am  full  of  the  burnt  offerings  of  rams, 
and  the  fat  of  fed  beasts;  I  delight  not  in  the  blood 
of  bullocks  or  of  goats.  Bring  no  more  vain  obla- 
tions! Your  incense  is  an  abomination  unto  me;  the 
new  moons  and  sabbaths,  the  calling  of  assemblies, 
I  cannot  away  with  them.  I  am  weary  to  bear  them. 
Your  hands  are  full  of  blood!  Wash  you,  make  you 
clean;  cease  to  do  evil,  learn  to  do  well.  Come  now, 
saith  the  Lord,  and  let  us  reason  together;  though 
your  sins  be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  as  white  as 
snow;  though  they  be  red  like  crimson,  they  shall  be 


134    HAS  THE  QUALITY  OF  CHRISTIANITY  DETERIORATED  ? 

as  wool."  And  how  stern  were  the  reproaches 
directed  at  the  churches  of  Asia.  To  Ephesus  he 
said,  "Thou  hast  lost  thy  first  love."  To  Pergamos, 
"  Thou  hast  the  doctrine  of  Balaam ;  repent  or  else  I 
will  come  unto  thee  quickly !  "  To  Sardis,  '*  Thou  hast 
a  name  that  thou  livest  and  art  dead,"  To  Laodicea, 
"I  know  thy  works,  how  thou  art  neither  cold  nor 
hot;  and  because  thou  art  neither  cold  nor  hot,  I 
will  spew  thee  out  of  my  mouth!  "  O,  no;  the  com- 
plaint of  inconsistency  is  as  old  as  the  profession  of 
the  gospel. 

But  I  venture  the  opinion  that  there  never  was  a 
time  when  the  level  of  Christian  character  was  higher 
than  to-day.  The  eyes  of  the  world  are  on  profess- 
ing Christians  as  never  before;  and  the  man  whose 
practice  does  not  tally  with  his  profession  becomes  a 
hissing  and  a  by-word.  The  Christian  is  a  watched 
man ;  and  he  has  a  thousand  ways  of  knowing  that 
the  friendship  of  the  world  is  enmity  against  God. 
We  listen  to  all  that  is  said  about  the  imperfections 
of  church  members,  and  then  dare  to  assert  that  there 
never  was  a  time  when  the  individual  Christian 
approximated  more  nearly  to  the  definition  of  Pope: 
"A  Christian  is  the  highest  style  of  man." 

And,  fourthly,  we  apply  the  Dynatnic  Test.  It  is 
said  that  "nine-tenths  of  the  work  of  the  Christian 
church  is  done  by  one-tenth  of  its  members."  And 
this  is  probably  true.  It  means  that  by  far  the 
largest  number  of  professing  Christians  are  more  or 
less  ineffective.  They  seem  to  be  satisfied  with  a 
passive  acceptance  of  personal  salvation  by  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ  and  give  little  heed  to  their  commission 
as  fishers  of  men. 


HAS  THE  QUALITY  OF  CHRISTIANITY  DETERIORATED  ?     135 

But  this  too  is  an  ancient  complaint.  Did  not 
Meroz  "abide  among  the  sheepfolds,  listening  to  the 
bleating  of  the  flocks,"  while  Israel  was  on  the  high 
places  of  the  field?  Has  not  the  Lord  from  time 
immemorial  been  standing  by  his  bride,  fallen  asleep 
in  the  city  gate,  crying,  "Awake,  awake,  O  Zion. 
Shake  thyself  from  the  dust;  loose  thyself  from  the 
bands  of  thy  neck;  and  put  on  thy  beautiful  gar- 
ments "  ?  Do  we  forget  how  Christ  found  it  neces- 
sary, in  apostolic  times,  to  apply  the  scourge  of 
persecution  to  his  indolent  disciples,  who  would  have 
tarried  at  Jerusalem  while  the  world  was  dying  in  sin ! 

We  shall  do  scant  justice  to  the  church  of  our 
time  if  we  ignore  the  zeal  with  which  she  has 
advanced  to  the  conquest  of  the  world.  We  have 
spoken  of  new  forces  in  the  industrial  life  of  the  last 
century;  let  us  not  overlook  the  new  forces  which 
have  been  developed  in  the  work  of  the  kingdom. 
The  Sabbath  School,  whose  influence  it  is  impossible 
to  overestimate,  was  born  but  a  hundred  years  ago; 
when  Robert  Raikes  went  through  the  streets  of 
Gloucester,  offering  a  shilling  a  day  for  teachers  in 
his  Ragged  Schools.  The  Temperance  Reform  is 
less  than  a  century  old.  So  is  Woman's  Work,  in 
its  various  forms.  And  so  is  the  magnificent  work 
of  Foreign  Missions.  It  was  little  more  than  a  cen- 
tury ago  that  William  Carey  sat  in  his  cobbler  shop 
in  Northamptonshire,  his  lapstone  between  his  knees 
pausing  while  he  hammered  to  gaze  at  a  map  of  the 
world  on  his  wall,  saying,  "God  bless  benighted 
India!  "  and  "  God  save  the  nations  that  lie  in  dark- 
ness and  the  shadow  of  death  !  "  It  is  stated  that  at 
that  time  there  were  less  than  three  hundred   con- 


136    HAS  THE  QUALITY  OF  CHRISTIANITY  DETERIORATED 


r 


*/" 


I"' 


verts  from  Paganism.  Now,  blessed  be  God!  the 
world  is  girdled  with  missionary  stations,  and  men 
everywhere  are  planning  in  Christ's  name  to  conquer 
the  nations. 

An  old  legend  says  that,  in  the  reign  of  Decius, 
seven  Christian  young  men  fled  from  persecution  in 
Ephesus  and  took  refuge  in  a  cave  near  by.  Their 
pursuers  rolled  a  great  stone  against  the  cave,  and 
so  it  remained  for  above  a  century.  Then  a  herds- 
man, searching  for  his  cattle,  rolled  away  the  stone, 
and  the  seven  sleepers  came  forth.  They  looked 
toward  Ephesus  and,  behold!  the  cross  was  gleaming 
from  many  spires.  They  passed,  bewildered,  into 
the  streets  and  heard  men  singing  praises  to  Christ  ! 
Let  us  suppose  that  a  man  had  fallen  asleep  a  hun- 
dred years  ago,  in  the  time  of  Paine's  Age  of  Reason 
and  the  French  Encyclopedia,  of  the  blasphemies  of 
Voltaire  and  Rousseau,  when  the  great  tidal  wave  of 
infidelity  swept  over  all  Christendom,  seeming  almost 
to  submerge  the  Churches.  Were  he  to  awake  to- 
day, what  surprises  would  greet  him!  Verily,  the 
Lord  hath  done  great  things,  whereof  we  are  glad. 

The  practical  lessons  which  we  would  emphasize 
are  these:  First,  Let  every  follower  of  Christ  refrain 
from  criticising  the  Church  and  see  that  he  himself 
is  a  faithful  follower  of  Christ.  There  are  many 
minifnum  Christians,  still  more  medium  Christians,  but 
the  demand  is  ever  for  maximum  Christians;  for  such 
as  hold  themselves  unreservedly  at  the  command  of 
their  Lord,  saying,  "What  wilt  thou  have  me  to 
do?  "  We  hear  much  of  "  reformers  "  in  our  time, 
but  the  need  of  all  needs  is  for  individual  reform ; 
for  less  of  criticism   and  more  of  personal  consecra- 


HAS  THE  QUALITY  OF  CHRISTIANITY  DETERIORATED  ?     1 37 

tion.  Let  every  one  sweep  his  own  doorstep  clean. 
And,  second^  Let  us  be  of  good  courage.  God  will 
take  care  of  his  Church.  He  has  founded  it  upon  a 
rock  and  has  declared  that  the  gates  of  hell  shall  not 
prevail  against  it.  Things  are,  indeed,  not  as  they 
should  be.  The  ideal  will  never  be  reached  until  the 
heavens  part  asunder  and  Christ  comes  to  reign  upon 
the  earth.  But  things  are  vastly  better  than  they 
used  to  be.  Our  world,  at  every  revolution,  comes 
further  into  the  light.  The  King's  chariot  wheels 
cannot  be  hindered.  He  cometh  to  reign!  The 
hands  on  his  dial  never  turn  back.  **  God's  in  his 
heaven;  all's  right  with  the  world!  " 


r 


'  .' ,  ^  ^ 


^^    TEN  GOOD  MEN  IN  SODOM 

"  Peradventure  ten  should  be  found  there."— Gen.  i8,  32. 

At  noon  Abraham  sat  in  the  doorway  of  his  tent  in 
the  plains  of  Mamre,  when  three  strangers  drew 
near,  weary  and  travel  stained;  and  he  rose  to  meet 
them,  saying:  "  I  will  fetch  a  morsel  of  bread:  com- 
fort ye  your  hearts."  This  incident  is  referred  to  in 
the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  where  it  is  written:  "  Be 
not  forgetful  to  entertain  strangers,  for  thereby  some 
have  entertained  angels  unawares."  The  guests  on 
this  occasion  were  indeed  celestial  visitants,  one  of 
them  being  the  Angel  of  the  Covenant,  a  theophany, 
a  Foregleam  of  Christ.  They  had  come  on  a  twofold 
errand;  to  renew  the  ancient  promise  to  Abraham  of 
a  son  to  be  born  in  fulness  of  time,  in  whom  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth  should  be  blessed ;  and  also  to 
declare  the  approaching  doom  of  Sodom.  The  latter 
communication  was  of  pathetic  interest  to  Abraham, 
since  his  nephew,  Lot,  with  his  household,  was  in  the 
fated  city.  At  this  point  a  singular  colloquy  occurred, 
in  which  Abraham  reveals  his  reverent  boldness  as 
the  "friend  of  God." 

And  he  said,  "  Wilt  thou  indeed  destroy  the  right- 
eous with  the  wicked?  Peradventure  there  be  fifty 
righteous  in  the  city,  wilt  thou  destroy  it?     That  be 

(138) 


TEN   GOOD   MEN  IN   SODOM.  j^p 

far  from  thee,  Lord,  to  slay  the  righteous  with  the 
wicked!  Shall  not  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  do 
right?  " 

f  And  the  Lord  said:  "If  I  find  fifty  righteous 
Within  the  city,  I  will  spare  it  for  their  sakes. " 

And  Abraham  said:  "Behold  now,  I  have  taken 
upon  me  to  speak  unto  the  Lord,  which  am  but 
dust  and  ashes:  peradventure  there  shall  lack  five  of 
the  fifty  righteous;  wilt  thou  destroy  the  city  for 
lack  of  five  ?"  Here  is  the  forwardness  of  a  special 
advocate.  Had  he  not  been  received  into  a  place  of 
peculiar  privilege,  he  could  not  have  ventured  thus 
to  bring  forth  his  strong  arguments  before  God. 

And  the  Lord  said,  **  If  I  find  there  forty  and  five, 
I  will  not  destroy  it." 

And  Abraham  spake  yet  again  saying,  "Perad- 
venture there  be  forty  found  there  ?  "  Here  is  impor- 
tunity indeed!  Will  the  Lord  lose  patience  with 
this  man  ? 

And  he  answered,  "  I  will  not  do  it  for  forty's 
sake." 

And  Abraham  said,  "O  let  not  the  Lord  be 
angry;  peradventure  there  be  thirty  found  there  ?  " 
Mark  the  directness  of  the  prayer.  There  is  no 
beating  about  the  bush.  -One  thing  only  he  desires, 
and  with  all  urgency  he  presses  it. 

And  the  Lord  said,  "I  will  spare  the  city  if  I  find 
thirty  there." 

And  he  said,  "Behold  now  I  have  taken  upon 
me  to  speak;  peradventure  there  shall  be  twenty 
found  there  ?  " 

And  he  answered,  "  I  will  not  destroy  it  for 
twenty's  sake," 


140  TEN    GOOD   MEN    IN    SODOM. 

And  he  said,  ''Let  not  the  Lord  be  angry  and  I 
will  speak  but  yet  this  once:  peradventure  ten  shall 
be  found  there  ?  " 
("  I  will  not  destroy  it  for  ten's  sake." 

Then,  silence. 

"And  the  Lord  went  his  way,  and  Abraham 
returned  unto  his  place."  Why  did  he  not  continue 
to  plead  ?  We  may  fill  this  parenthesis  of  silence 
with  profitable  thought. 

jPirst — If  ere  is  a  Question  Raised;  a  question  as  to 
the  Justice  of  Divine  Providence.  The  case  of  Sodom  is 
not  singular.  We  live  within  sight  and  hearing  of 
constant  disaster,  of  storm  and  earthquake,  of  war 
and  pestilence  and  conflagration.  And  Abraham's 
question  is  ever  rising  to  our  lips:  "  Why  should  the 
righteous  perish  with  the  wicked  ?  Shall  not  the 
Judge  of  all  the  earth  do  right  ?  "  Let  us  not,  how- 
ever, be  too  sure  of  our  own  conclusions,  lest  we^ 
like  the  patriarch,  be  striken  dumb. 

Blind  unbelief  is  sure  to  err 
And  scan  his  work  in  vain; 
God  is  his  own  interpreter 
And  he  will  make  it  plain. 

We  may  be  confident  that  the  final  outcome  will 
show  an  infinite  goodness  behind  the  "frowning 
providence."  Faith  bids  us  await  the  drawing  of 
the  veil.  An  ancient  saint  meditating  on  this  prob- 
lem was  moved  to  cry,  "  Thy  righteousness  is  as  the 
great  mountains!  "  and  again,  "  Thy  judgments  are 
a  great  deep!  " 

In  the  case  of  Sodom  there  are  two  considerations 
which  must  greatly  modify  our  conclusion.  One  is 
the  frightful  provocation.     The  Lord  said,  "The  cry 


TEN    GOOD    MEN    IN    SODOM.  141 

of  Sodom  is  great  and  its  sin  is  very  grievous."  The 
things  which  were  done  in  Sodom  have  made  its 
name  a  hissing  and  a  byword  to,  this  day.  Sin  in 
every  form  is  grievous  beyond  words.  Its  exceeding 
sinfulness,  however,  lies  not  in  the  fact  that  it  is  a 
painful  and  loathsome  malady;  nor  in  the  fact  that 
it  is  defnetitia,  confusing  all  our  conceptions  of  truth 
and  righteousness;  but  in  this,  that,  in  the  last 
reduction,  it  is  rebellion  against  God.  It  is  anomia, 
that  is,  transgression  against  perfect  law.  The 
description  of  Milton  is  quite  inadequate: 


t-wlUt..^ 


'^.-J4 


"  The  other  shape, 
If  shape  it  might  be  called  that  shape  had  none 
Distinguishable  in  member,  joint,  or  limb; 
Or  substance  might  be  call'd  that  shadow  seem'd, 
For  each  seem'd  either;  black  it  stood  as  night, 
Fierce  as  ten  furies,  terrible  as  hell, 
And  shook  a  dreadful  dart." 

He  should  have  added,  to  complete  the  picture,  that 

this  "  dreadful  dart  "  is  shaken  in  the  face  of  a  holy 

God.     Sodom    was    a   nest    of   treason.     Its    people  ^'*^'^^v.,h>>-« 

said,  "  God  doth  not  see,  neither  doth  he  consider." 

And,    under   such   circumstances,    it    is   unthinkable 

that  his  wrath  should  not  have  been  aroused  against 

them.     It  is  a  true  saying,  *'  God   is  angry  with   the 

wicked  every  day." 

The  other  consideration  which  must  be  taken 
into  the  problem  is  the  longsuffering  of  Goi.  Why 
should  he  have  endured  the  insolence  of  Sodom  so 
long?  Why  did  he  bear  with  Tyre  and  Sidon^with 
Nineveh  and  Babylon,  year  after  year,  before  he 
smote  them?  Nay,  let  us  come  down  to  the  present. 
If    you    have    read    "  The    Bitter   Cry    of    Outcast 


142  TEN    GOOD    MEN    IN    SODOM. 

London  "  did  you  not  see  everywhere  between   the 
lines,  "I  am  the  Lord,  the  Lord  God  merciful  and 
gracious;  slow  to  anger  and  plenteous  in  mercy?  " 
i,^c''~^       In   the   Sun   of    last   Tuesday    an   entire   page   was 
■     ,      devoted   to  an  exposure  of  an  East   Side  portion  of 
-'■^''~'"       our  city.     O  the  vice,  the  drunkenness,  the  debauch- 
ery^  of  men  and  women  and  little  children!     And  O 
the  unspeakable  guilt  of  magistrates  who  have  grown 
riciLon  the  red  revenues  of  this  infamy!    It  is  indeed 
of  the  Lord's  mercy  that  we  are  not  consumed.    Was 
he  longsuffering  toward  the  people  of  Sodom?    How 
much  more  toward  us^wh^_  sin  against  greater  light? 
,  ^  ;.-It  is  of    New   York    that   the  Master  says,    "If  the 
'^■'^'^  mighty  works  had   been  done   in   Sodom   that  have 

been  done  in  thee,  it  would   long  ago   have  repented 
in  sackcloth  and  ashes;  wherefore,  it  shall  be   more 
tolerable  in  the  day  of  judgment  for  Sodom  than  for 
thee." 
^  ^4  .  It  is  the  fashion  of  our  time  to  minimize  sin  and 

'~*^-'"  the    retribution    which    follows    it.      No    doubt    you 
(         have  seen  a  recent  criticism  of  words  used  by  Jona- 
'    ^    ,    than  Edwards   a  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  in  his 
Ui-  '*-'     '"  well-known  sermon  on  "Sinners  in  the  Hands  of  an 
Angry  God."     Here  is  the  paragraph  in  question: 
"  The  God  that  holds  you  over  the  pit  of  hell,  much 
as  one  holds  a  spider  or  some   loathsome  insect  over 
the  fire,  abhors  you,  and  is  dreadfully  provoked;  his 
wrath  towards  you  burns  like   fire;    he  looks  upon 
you  as  worthy  of  nothing  else  but  to  be  cast  into  the 
fire;  he  is  of  purer  eyes  than  to  bear  to  have  you  in 
his  sight;  you  are  ten  thousand  times  so  abominable 
in  his  eyes,  as  the  most  hateful  and  venomous  ser- 
pent is  in   ours.     You  have  offended   him   infinitely 


TEN   GOOD    MEN   IN   SODOM.  1 43 

more  than  ever  a  stubborn  rebel  did  his  prince:  and 
yet  it  is  nothing  but  his  hand  that  holds  you  from 
falling  into  the  fire  every  moment:  it  is  ascribed  to 
nothing  else,  that  you  did  not  go  to  hell  the  last 
night;  that  you  was  suffered  to  awake  again  in  this 
world,  after  you  had  closed  your  eyes  to  sleep;  and 
there  is  no  other  reason  to  be  given,  why  you  have 
not  dropped  into  hell  since  you  arose  in  the  morning, 
but  that  God's  hand  has  held  you  up."  Here  is 
indeed  an  awful  presentation  of  the  divine  wrath. 
Let  it  be  observed,  however,  that  in  his  wrath  the 
Lord  remembers  mercy.  The  hand  by  which  he 
holds  the  sinner  over  hell  is  the  hand  of  offended 
justice;  but  the  hand  which  refuses  to  let  the  sinner 
fall  is  the  hand  of  infinite  love.  "It  is  nothing  but 
this  that  holds  you  from  falling!  ''  Let  it  be  remem- 
bered furthermore  that  the  man  who  is  thus  charged 
with  overdrawing  the  divine  indignation  is  the  same 
Jonathan  Edwards  who  preached  the  gospel  of  divine  ^^^"'  J 
mercy   to  the  saving  of  great  multitudes;  and  who,  »    >' 

on  one  occasion,  was  found  in  his  study,  murmuring     ul<^^' , 
in  a  voice  broken  with  tears,  'O   the  love  of  God!   ^^   ,.  ,  ^"' 
The  wonderful  love  of  God !  "  "^=  ^    <^of 

It  was  this  consideration  that  silenced  the  impor-  /^_  ^^,^ 
tunity  of  Abraham.  Not  ten  righteous  men  in  ^  C 
Sodom!  Then  was  God  merciful,  indeed.  Then 
was  the  divine  justice  vindicated,  so  that  the  petitioner 
could  plead  no  more.  There  was,  indeed,  nothing 
more  to  say.  The  saints  in  glory,  who  with  open 
eyes  behold  the  solution  of  divine  providence,  cry, 
"Just  and  righteous  art  thou  altogether,  O  Lord  of 
Hosts!  "  And  among  those  who  dwell  in  outer  dark- 
ness,   self-exiled    despite    the    Lord's    longsuffering. 


fh 


--4 


~) 


144  TEN    GOOD    MEN   IN    SODOM. 

there  is  not  one  who  can  look  backward  and  make 
complaint;  but  all  alike  join  in  saying,  "The  Lord  is 
justified  when  he  speaketh;  and  he  is  clear  when  he 
judgeth.  True  and  righteous  altogether  is  the  Lord 
of  Hosts!  " 

But,  second,  we  find  here  a  Principle  Stated;  to  wit, 
the  Vicarious  Power  of  Righteousness.  Had  there  been 
ten -^righteous  men  in  Sodom,  they  would  have  saved 
the  city.  Who  shall  estimate  the  value  of  the  super- 
flux  of  holy  lives.  Homes  are  spared  for  the  sake  of 
righteous  mothers;  cities  for  the  sake  of  righteous 
citizens.  The  ship  that  was  tossed  about  by  Euro- 
clydon,  in  the  .^gean  Sea,  was  saved  with  all 
aboard,  on  account  of  a  single  passenger  who  was  on 
his  way  to  preach  the  gospel  at  Rome.  Thus  it  is 
written,  "Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth:  "  that  is,  a 
potent  antiseptic  to  arrest  an  otherwise  mortal  putre- 
faction. The  savor  of  this  salt  is  effective  in  many 
ways. 

To   begin  wjth,    ^''  the  fervent  effectual  prayer  of  a 

/    righteous. man  availeth   much,"     God  hears  prayer 

and   is  pleased   to  answer  it.     And  Jesus  spake  this 

parable  unto  his  disciples;   "A   certain   man  had  a 

fig-tree   planted    in  his  vineyard;  and   he  came  and 

souQfht  fruit  thereon  and  found  none.     Then  said  he 

I       unto  the  dresser  of  his  vineyard.  Behold,  these  three 

^'  years  I  come  seeking  fruit  on   this  fig-tree,  and  find 

none;  cut  it   down;  why   cumbereth  it  the  ground? 

and  he  answering  said  unto  him,  Lord,   let  it  alone 

this  year  also,  till  I   shall  dig  about  it  and  dung  it; 

and  if  it  bear  fruit,  well;  and   if  not,  then  after  that 

thou   shalt   cut   it    down."      And   the    husbandman 

spared  the  tree. 


TEN    GOOD    MEN    IN    SODOM.       .  145 

The  savor  of  the  salt  is  manifest,  also,  in  the 
power  of  exaftiple.  "  But  if  the  salt  has  lost  its  savor, 
wherewith  shall  it  be  salted  ?  It  is  thenceforth  good 
for  nothing  but  to  be  cast  out  and  trodden  under  foot 
of  men."  Actions  speak  louder  than  words.  "Ye 
are  the  light  of  the  world:  let  your  light  so  shine 
before  men,  that  they  may  see  your  good  works,  and 
glorify  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven."  But  if  the 
light  which  is  in  you  be  darkness,  how  great  is  that 
darkness !  A  stern  rebuke  was  administered  to  David, 
in  the  matter  of  Bathsheba,  because  he  "had  given 
occasion  to  the  enemy  to  blaspheme."  In  his  notable 
prayer  for  pardon  he  pleads,  "  Restore  unto  me  the 
joy  of  thy  salvation  and  uphold  me  with  thy  free  spirit ; 
then  will  I  teach  transgressors  thy  ways  and  sinners 
shall  be  converted  unto  thee."  All  his  royal  procla- 
mations in  behalf  of  righteousness,  all  his  melodious 
Psalms  in  praise  of  the  divine  glory  went  for  nothing. 
The  world  tires  of  hearing  inconsistent  Christians 
talk  sweetly  of  Christ.  "  Lord,  open  thou  my  lips," 
he  prays,  "and  my  mouth  shall  show  forth  thy 
praise;  then  shalt  thou  be  pleased  with  the  sacrifices 
of  righteousness,  with  burnt  offering  and  whole 
burnt  offering;  then  shall  they  offer  bullocks  upon 
thine  altar."  His  sin  had  closed  his  lips,  and  the 
Lord  only  could  open  them.  He  could  preach  no 
more  until  able  to  illustrate  his  preaching  by  a 
holy  life. 

The  savor  of  the  salt  is  further  manifest  in 
evangelistic  effort.  Let  it  never  be  forgotten  that  the 
prime  business  of  all  believers  is  to  save  men.  "If  I 
say  unto  the  wicked.  Thou  shalt  surely  die  ;  and 
thou  givest  him  not  warning  ;  the  same  wicked  man 


r 


146  TEN   GOOD   MEN   IN   SODOM. 

-shall  die  in  his  iniquity  ;  but  his  blood  will  I  require 
at  thy  hand."  It  is  a  sad  comment  on  the  life  and 
J  character  of  Lot  that  he  had  lived  twenty-two  years 
in  Sodom  and  yet  in  all  that  city  there  was  not  one 
believer  outside  of  his  own  household.  What  ser- 
mons he  might  have  preached  !  What  sheaves  he 
might  have  gathered  had  he  been  a  faithful  man  ! 
True,  it  is  recorded  of  him  that  he  "  vexed  his  right- 
eous soul;"  but  vexing  his  righteous  soul  was  not 
enough.  At  th.e_putset,  he  should  not  have  chosen 
=1  to  live  in  Sodom  at  all  ;  or,  having  discovered  its 
iniquity^he^  should  have  fied^  as  from  a  city  afflicted 
with  the  plague ;  but,  choosing  to  remain  there,  he 
should  have  gone  up  and  down  its  streets,  like  Jonah 
in  Nineveh,  crying,  "Repent,  or  this  city  shall  be 
destroyed !  "  We  are  set  as  watchmen  on  the  walls, 
to  cry  aloud  and  spare  not  and  show  the  people  their 
sins.  We  have  power,  under  God,  to  convert  sin- 
ners from  the  error  of  their  ways,  "and  whoso  con- 
verteth  a  sinner  shall  save  a  soul  from  death  and  hide 
a  multitude  of  sins." 

The  last  time  I  saw  Mr.  Moody,  not  long  before 
his  death,  he  leaned  across  my  study-table  and  said, 
"I  think  we  are  near  to  the  greatest  work  of  grace 
in  all  history  :  I  can  give  no  definite  reason,  except 
that  I  feel  it  in  the  very  air."  As  the  new  century 
begins,  there  seems  to  be  a  moving  in  the  tops  of  the 
mulberry  trees.  A  fortnight  ago  a  request  was  sent 
to  thirty  thousand  ministers  all  over  our  country, 
asking  that  they  would  meet  together  to  plead  with 
God  for  an  outpouring  of  His  Spirit  ;  and,  turning 
aside  from  all  other  pursuits  and  considerations, 
address  themselves  straightway  to  the  saving  of  souls. 


TEN   GOOD   MEN   IN   SODOM. 


147 


A  man  high  in  the  councils  of  the  Christian  church 
said  to  me  recently,  "  I  fear  that,  amid  the  contro- 
versies of  the  last  half  century  the  ministry  has  lost 
the  art  of  soul  saving."  God  forbid  !  Lgt  us,  my 
brethren,  turn  from  our  devotion  to  science  and 
philosophy,  from  apologetics  and  critical  dogmatics, 
and  go  out  after  prisoners  of  hope.  Let  us 
emphasize    th^    destroying  ..p.owe£  of  sin,   and  more 

,  and  roo.ce  the  saying  power. ..of —the— blDod of .^Jesus 

Christ.  Knowing  the  terror  of  the  Lord,  let  us  per- 
suade men. 

The  commission  to  save  souls,  however,  is  ad- 
dressed not  to  ministers  only,  but  to  all  true  follow- 
ers of  Christ.  The  words  that  he  spake  to  those  who 
were  mending  their  nets  by  the  side  of  Gennesareth, 
"  FqUow  me  and  I  will  make  you  fishers  of  men," 
were  addressed  to  all  whojoye  and  follow  him.  This 
is  the  business  of  the  kingdom  ;  and  great  is  the 
promise:  "They  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the 
brightness  of  the  firmament  ;  and  they  that  turn 
many  to  righteousness  as  the  stars  for  ever  and 
ever ! 

The  ten  righteous  were  not  found  in  Sodom.  The 
prayer  of  Abraham  was  hushed  by  the  overwhelming 
thought  of  the  divine  patience.  "And  the  Lord 
went  his  way,  and  Abraham  returned  unto  his  place. " 
From  the  heights  of  Bethel  he  saw  the  great  catas- 
trophe ;  the  smoke  of  Sodom  "ascending  up  as  the 
smoke  of  a  furnace."  And  on  the  lurid  skies  one 
word  was  writ  large.  Justice !  "  Be  not  deceived, 
God  is  not  mocked,  whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that 
shall  he  also  reap."  It  you  have  taken  up  your 
abode  in  Sodom,  my  friend,  flee  from  it.     If  you  are 


Tt^^ 


148^  TEN    GOOD    MEN   IN   SODOM. 

engaged  in  an  evil  business,  get  out  of  it.  If  you 
have  formed  bad  associations,  escape  from  them.  If 
you  are  wedded  to  a  darling  sin,  break  loose  ! 

"  The  voice  of  Free  Grace  cries,  Escape  to  the  mountain, 
For  Adam's  lost  race  Christ  hath  opened  a  fountain  ; 
For  sin  and  uncleanness  and  every  trangression 
His  blood  flows  most  freely  in  streams  of  salvation." 

And  another  word  shone  as  in  golden  letters 
against  the  awful  background  of  Sodom's  ruin, 
Mercy!  O  the  boundless  mercy  of  the  patient  God! 
As  Abraham  on  the  heights  shaded  his  eyes,  he  may 
have  seen  a  little  group  of  fugitives  pursuing  their 
way  along  the  mountain  road :  it  was  Lot  and  his 
family,  "saved,  so  as  by  fire."  Lot  was  called  right- 
eous, but  only  by  contrast  with  the  unrighteousness 
of  Sodom  ;  he  was  a  selfish,  covetous  rnan  ;  not  free 
from  vicious  habits,  unmindful  of  his  neighbors* 
welfare,  and  training  his  children  to  shame  ;  yet  God 
was  pleased  to  spare  him.  And  Lot's  wife  was  a 
poor,  half-hearted  creature,  whose  life  was  cut  in 
sunder  by  her  lingering  love  of  sin.  And  his  daugh- 
ters live  before  us  only  in  the  memory  of  their  shame. 
These  four,  the  sole  remnant  of  righteousness  left  in 
'1  Sodom,  were  saved  !     Great  was  the  power  of  Abra- 

ham's prayer.     And  great  is  the  mercy  of  God. 

A  man  came  to  see  me  last  Monday,  who  said, 
"I  attended  church  last  night  and  heard  you  say, 
*A  sea  of  oblivion  has  been  opened  up  in  the  Sa- 
viour's blood,  in  which  a  man  may  drown  forever  the 
mislived  past.'  Did  you  mean  that  ?  "  I  told  him  I 
meant  that,  and  more  ;  namely,  that  Christ,  in  for- 
giving a  man's  sins,  joins  himself  to  the  forgiven 
sinner  as  a  perpetual  friend  who  can  never  be  shaken 


H 


TEN    GOOD    MEN    IN    SODOM,  149 

off.  He  said,  "  That's  what  I  want.  It's  the  only 
gleam  of  hope  I  have  had  for  years."  We  knelt 
down  and,  having  offered  a  brief  prayer,  I  said,  *'  Tell 
God  for  yourself."  And  then  he  made  a  most  sin- 
gular prayer  :   "God,  I  am  at  the  end  of  my  rope  ! 

,,  I  have  wasted  my  life  and  tried  in  vain  to  retrieve  it! 
God,  I  have  a  great  thing  to  do,  a  great  burden  to 
bear  ;  I  must  roll  it  off  on  you.  God,  you  must  take 
it!     Amen."     And  God  took  it. 

Here^g^ajaJ-Ord   of  hope  for  every  penitent.      He 

i  comes  to  meet  the  prodigal  while  he  is  yet  a  great 
way  off.  He  is  ready  to  blot  out  the  past  and  glorify 
the  future.  His  word  is,  "  Him  that  cometh  unto 
me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out."  And  he  is  able  to 
save  unto  the  uttermost  all  who  will  come  unto  him. 


A  MAN'S  A  MAN 

"  Which  was  the  son  of  Seth,  which  was  the  son  of  Adam,  which  was  the 
son  of  God.— Luke  3,  38." 

It  is  estimated  that  there  are  sixteen  hundred 
millions  of  people  in  the  world ;  and  all  of  them  have 
the  same  family  tree.  This  may  be  a  mortifying  fact 
to  some  of  us,  but  it  is  true,  nevertheless.  We  say, 
"Blood  is  thicker  than  water. "  So  it  is;  but  there 
is  no  blood  so  rich  in  red  corpuscles  that  makes  life 
and  character  as  the  universal  blood  that  flows 
through  Seth  and  Adam  back  to  God. 

Is  there  then  no  difference  between  men  ?  No 
two  men  are  alike.  But  all  real  differences  rest  not 
on  adventitious  conditions  but  on  personal  attain- 
ments in  virtue  and  usefulness. 

"  Its  no  in  titles  or  in  rank, 

Its  no  in  wealth  in  Lon'on  bank 

To  purchase  peace  and  rest: 
Its  no  in  makin'  muckle  mair, 
Its  no  in  books,  its  no  in  lear 

To  make  us  truly  blest." 

Or  if  one  prefer  a  more  serious  prophet  than  Burns, 

here  is  a  couplet  from  Pope's  essay: 

"  Honor  and  shame  from  no  condition  rise, 
Act  well  your  part,  there  all  the  honor  lies." 

The  same  truth  was  driven   home   in   an  abrupt  way 
by  the   rough   prophet   of   the  wilderness   when   to 

(ISO) 


A   MANS   A    MAN.  151 

certain  tuft-hunters  who  ostentatiously  claimed 
descent  from  Abraham  he  said,  not  without  a  curling 
of  the  lip,  "  God  can  raise  up  children  unto  Abra- 
ham from  these  stones." 

The  doctrine  ofEquality.  resting  on  the  solidarity 
of  the  race  as  enunciated  in  our  text,  is  fundamental 
to  our  religion  and  our  religious  life.  It  furnishes  a 
rationale  for  self-respect  on  the  one  hand  and  for 
mutual  respect  on  the  other;  and  these  are  the  two 
great  pillars  of  personal  and  social  character. 

I.  As  to  Self -respect.  The  wise  maxim  of  Thales, 
"  Know"  thyself,"  is  of  little  consequence  unless  it 
lead  to  another,  "  Respect  thyself."  Yet  self-respect 
is  never  born  of  introspection,  but  of  a  backward 
look  toward  our  diyine_birthright  and  an  upward 
look  to  omnipotent  grace. 

No  matter  how  far  a  man  may  wander  in  the  far 
country  he  cannot  escape  the  consciousness  that  he 
came  forth  from  God.  One  of  the  Greek  philoso- 
phers spoke  of  man  as  "a  windwhirl."  We  look 
down  the  road  on  a  windy  day  and  see  yonder  the 
dust  rising  in  a  spiral  column  and  sweeping  onward 
out  of  sight;  so  is  human  life.  We  accept  the  defi- 
nition with  such  qualifications  as  these:  The  dust  of 
which  we  are  framed  was  most  cunningly  manipu- 
lated by  a  divine  Creator  so  that  one  may  say  of  his 
bodily  frame,  "It  is  fearfully  and  wonderfully 
made";  and  the  wind  that  animates  it  is  divine 
breath,  as  it  is  written,  "God  formed  man  of  the 
dust  of  the  ground  and  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the 
breath  of  life,  and  he  became  a  living  soul."  Fur- 
thermore, the  dust-whirl,  passing  out  of  sight,  has 
not  passed  out  of  being;  as  it  is  written,  *'  The  dust 


152  A    MAN  S    A    MAN. 

shall  return  to  the  earth  as  it  was  and  the  spirit  shall 
return  to  God  who  gave  it."  So  that,  back  from  the 
invisible  region  into  which  it  has  passed,  there  comes 
an  inspiring  word,  "  Now  are  we  sons  of  God,  but  it 
doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be !  " 
/,  And  because  a^man  js_jyijus^ dL^ivinely  born  and  con- 
stituted, he  is  sovereign  in  hj.s_.ownri^h^  Of  all 
creatures  he  alone  is  free.  The  sun  is  as  a  bridegroom 
coming  out  of  his  chamber  and  rejoiceth  as  a  strong 
man  to  run  a  race ;  but  his  race  is  ever  along  the 
course  marked  out.  The  moon  and  planets  are 
bondslaves  of  gravity,  never  swerving  an  hair's 
breadth  from  their  orbits.  The  sea  yields  an  implicit 
obedience  to  a  voice  saying,  "  Thus  far  shalt  thou 
come  and  no  farther;  and  here  shall  thy  proud  waves 
be  stayed!"  The  wind  bloweth  where  it  listeth  ;  but 
even  in  its  most  boisterous  moods  it  sweeps  along  the 
path  of  least  resistance.  Man  alone  can  disobey  the 
laws  of  his  being  and  defythe  JLaw^giver.  He  may 
plan  for  himself,  originate,  and  answer  God's  "  Thou 
shalt,"  with  an  obstinate,  "  I  will  not,"  and  take  the_ 
consequences.  Thus  the  very  sin  by  which  he  is 
alienated  from  God  is  proof  positive  of  his  divine 
birthright.  He  is  sovereign  because  he  is  created  in 
the  likeness  of  the  sovereign  God. 
^  And  being  sovereign,  he  is  in  a  most  real  sense 

the  architect_  of  _his  own  fortune;s.  His  life  and 
character  are  what  he  makes  them.  He  has  a  fair 
start  and  an  equal  chance  with  others.  It  is  true 
I  that  he  is  handicapped  on  the  one  hand  by  heredity 
!  and  on  the  other  by  environment.  Yet  there  is  less 
in  heredity  than  one  would  think ;  since  there  can  be 
little  or  no  difference  in  the  average  inheritance  from 


A   MAN  S    A    MAN.  153 

the  long  line.     The  hot  blood   of  sin  runs   equally- 
through  the  veins  of  all.     My  immediate  forebears 
may  have  dealt  ill   with  me,  but  God  makes  allow- 
ajTce'  f6r~thIs;~^*Ye  shatr  no  more  use  the  proverb, 
The  fathers  have  eaten  sour  grapes  and  the  children's 
teeth  are  set  on  edge;  for  as  I  live,   saith  the  Lord, 
the   soul   that    sinneth,    it    shall    die."      It   must  be 
remembered  also  that,   in  his  last  extremity,  a  man 
can    always  fall    back  on    the  help    of    his  remotest 
ancestor;  that  is,  God. — The    influence   of   environ- 
ment also  is  greatly  overestimated.      It  can  scarcely 
be    a   more    dominating  factor   in   one    life  than   in 
another;  since  all  are  confronted   by  the  world,  the 
flesh  and  the  devil.      No  man  is  a  creature  of  circum- 
stance,  unless   he    so    wills    it.      The    mark    of   true 
greatness Ts'tcTgeTfTie 'better  of  one's  circumstances. 
It  is  no  singular   thing  for  lilies   to   grow  out  of  the 
mire.     When  Pericles   crowned  the  slave  Creon  for 
artistic  skill,  he  said,  "Here   is  a  marvelous  thing." 
Yet  this  marvelous  thing  is  happening  all  the  while. 
Sons  of  the   peerage  are  lost  in  the  rabble;  and  the 
peerage  is  recruited  agairiTrom  the  ranks  of  cobblers' 
anTlipothecaries.      ' *  The   fault,  dear  Bru'tu"s7  is'  not" 
iri"  bui*   stars,  but   in   ourselves   that  we  are   under- , 
lings." 

So  then  a  man  is,  under  God,  what  he  makes 
himself.  The  accidentals  of  his  life  have  little  to  do 
with  it.  When  Frederick  of  Prussia  heard  that 
William  Pitt  had  been  made  Earl  of  Chatham,  he 
said,  "It  is  a  bad  exchange;  the  world  knows 
William  Pitt  for  what  he  has  been  and  accomplished; 
but  as  for  this  Earl  of  Chatham,  who  is  he?  " 

II.   As  to  the  influence  of  this  doctrine  of  human 


154  A  man's  a  man. 

fcrf^'equality  on  our  Mutual  Respect.  We  have  much  to 
say,  in  these  times,  about  Social  Science  and  Social 
Economics.  The  problems  which  most  engage  our 
attention  are  tliose  relating  to  social  life.  And  the 
determining  factor  in  the  solution  of  all  such  prob- 
lems is  the  Equality  of  Man. 

^i  Let  us  begin  with  the  Home-life,  which  is  the 
innermost  circle.  What  a  dlWerence  it  would  make 
in  the  status  of  our  domestic  affairs  were  the  lady  of 
the  household  to  recognize  the  fact  that  her  maids  in 
service  are  her  natural  equals.  Even  in  most  Chris- 
tian households  I  think  the  suggestion  would  be 
regarded  as  a  social  heresy.  Yet  the  fairy  tale  of 
Cinderella  is  but  a  lighter  version  of  the  Epistle  of 
Paul  to  Philemon,  in  which  he  entreats  that  the  slave 
Onesimus  be  received  "  not  as  a  servant  but  above  a 
servant,  a  brother  beloved."  Here  is  a  proposition 
that  would  revolutionize  our  domestic  affairs;  but  i^ 
would  be  quite  in  line  with  the  gospel,  which  speaks 
on  this  wise,  ''  There'  is  neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  Bar-^ 
barian,  Scythian,  bond  nor  free;  but  Christ  is  all  and 
in  all." 
I  This    truth    has  a    distinct   bearing   also  on    the 

Labor  problem;  I  mean  as  to  the  right  relations  of 
master  and  man.  It  is  true  employees  are  mere 
"  hands  "  to  their  employer  who  is  head;  yet  they 
are  alike  members  of  the  body  and  equally  honorable. 
The  last  words  of  Judge  Talfourd,  who  had  devoted 
his  life  to  a  right  adjustment  of  labor  and  capital, 
were  these:  "  If  I  were  asked  what  is  the  great  want 
of  English  society  to-day,  I  should  say  it  is  the  want 
of  sympathy  between  masters  and  men."  Strikes 
and  lockouts  are  expressions    of   this  lack  of  sym- 


A    MAN  S   A   MAN.  155 

apathy;  and  they  will  never  cease  until  there  is  due 
consideration  on  both  sides  of  the  great  truth  of 
equality,  and  until  the  teaching  of  the  Carpenter  of^ 
Nazareth  shall  prevaiJi^..l',As_  j^__WQuid  that  men^ 
should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them." 
^^  Let  this  truth  Tiave  way  in  "^Society"  and  what 
a  turning  and  overturning  there  would  be  !  No 
doubt  there  is  room  for  social  distinctions  ;  but  not 
according  to  the  standards  which  prevail  in  many 
quarters.  The  only  "aristocracy"  for  which  there 
is  room,  is  that  which  is  suggested  by  the  primitive 
meaning  of  the  word,  to  wit,  "the  best  people." 
There  is  an  aristocracy  which  is  founded  on  personal 
merit  and  attainment.  The  mischief  is  that  divis- 
io^nal  fines'  as  they  exist  are  of  a  \evy  different  sort. 
We  cry  out  against  the  institution  of  caste  in  India, 
because  its  influence  is  repressive  every  way.  There 
are  four  orders  there  :  the  Brahmans,  created  from 
the  head  of  Brahm,  the  Kshatryas  from  his  breast, 
the  Vaisyas  from  his  loins  and  the  Sudras  from  his 
feet.  The  walls  of  partition  are  impassable.  The 
scavengers  of  Cawnpur  are  the  children  of  those  who 
were  scavengers  in  Cawnpur  a  thousand  years  ago. 
Under  such  conditions,  what  hope  or  ambition  can 
there  be?  But  India  is  not  alone  in  such  social  dif- 
ferentiations. How  much  better  is  it  in  England 
with  her  four  orders:  Royalty,  Nobility,  Gentry  and 
Yeomanry?  Nor  are  we  in  a  position  to  lift  our  eye- 
brows at  nations  beyond  the  sea  ;  for,  notwithstand-  ^x^ 
ing  the  fact  that  we  hold  avowedly  to  the  doctrine 
of  human  equality,  we  divide  ourselves  asunder  by 
the  most  superficial  considerations,  such  as  pride  of 
birth,  pride  of  learning,  pride  of  wealth.      The  dig- 


'->. 


156  A    man's    a    man. 

nity  of  man  as  man  is  measurably  lost  in  our  regard 
for  crests  (God  save  the  mark!)  and  diplomas  and 
decorations.     We  boast  of  our  Democracy,  and  do 

,  obeisance  to  the  sons  of  parvenus.     We  revere  the 
/  memory  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  not  one  of  whom 
was  above  the  rank  of  a  yeoman,  and  then  invent 
coats  of  arms  by  which  to  certify  that  we  are  de- 
scended from  them.     We  hate  caste,  yet  strangely 

i  covet  it. 

The  same  principle  applies  in  our  Political  life. 
No  more  important  manifesto  has  ever  been  issued 
than  that  contained  in  the  preamble  of  our  Declara- 
tion of  Independence:  "All  men  are  created  free 
and  equal  and  with  certain  inalienable  rights,  such 
as  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness."  The 
equality  here  referred  to  is  such  as  inheres  in  our 
divine  birthright;  that  is,  we  are  created  equal. 
The  corollary  is  manhood  suffrage;  which  means 
that  every  citizen  is  a  stockholder  and  profit-sharer 
in  the  res-publica.  The  reductio  ad  absurdum  is 
in  the  discussion  which  has  been  going  on  in 
Congress  for  a  fortnight  as  to  whether  or  no  any 
action  should  be  taken,  under  the  requirements  of 
our  Constitution,  with  reference  to  the  fact  that  ten 
millions  of  our  fellow  citizens  have  been  disfranchised 
on  account  of  their  color!  The  ominous  significance 
of  this  event  lies  not  so  much  in  its  violation  of  the 
letter  of  the  Constitution  as  in  the  fact  that  it  is  in 
direct  contravention  of  the  great  principle  for  which 
we  stand  as  a  people ;  to  wit,  that  men  are  equal  before 
God  and  equal  in  the  possession  of  such  natural  rights 
as  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  So  long 
as  we  are  untrue  to  that  fundamental  fact,    a  fact 


A   man's    a    man.  157 

which  is  the  very  breath  of  our  national  life,  there 
must  be  trouble  brewing.  The  inference  is  plain;  it 
behooves  us  to  face  the  problem  not  only  in  loyalty 
to  our  republican  traditions  but  in  obedience  to  the 
,  r""", behest  of  God. 

'  y/  It  is  in  the  Church,  however,  that_,we_ should 
expect  to  find  the  supreme  and  perfect  expression  of 
this^  doctrine.  The  church  is  itself  an  aristocracy; 
but  only  in  the  etymological  sense.  It  is  a  body 
called  out  of  the  world  (ecclesia)  to  cherish  the  best 
and  truest.  The  ''calling/'  however,  is  of  divine 
grace,  and  herein  all  are  equal,  since  all  are  but  sin- 
ners saved  by  grace.  There  is  no  room,  therefore, 
for  distinctions  of  rank  or  title  in  the  church.  There 
is  no  franchise  for  a  rich  church  or  a  poor  church. 
Nor  in  any  individual  church  is  there  warrant  for 
distinction  between  rich  and  poor;  as  it  is  written, 
"There  is  no  difference  between  the  Jew  and  the 
Greek:  for  the  same  Lord  over  all  is  rich  unto  all 
that  call  upon  him  "  (Rom.  10,  12).  There  can  be  no 
misunderstanding  at  this  point:  "  For  if  there  come 
unto  your  assembly  a  man  with  a  gold  ring,  in 
goodly  apparel,  and  there  come  in  also  a  poor  man 
in  vile  raiment;  and  ye  have  respect  to  him  that 
weareth  the  gay  clothing,  and  say  unto  him.  Sit 
thou  here  in  a  good  place ;  and  say  to  the  poor, 
Stand  thou  there,  or  sit  here  under  my  footstool:  are 
ye  not  then  partial  in  yourselves  and  become  judges 
of  evil  thoughts?  "  (James  2,  2-4).  The  church  is_ 
the  one  commune  on  earth.  Here  "the  rich  and 
poor  meet  together,  and  the  Lord  is  maker  of  them 
all."  We  sing,  "Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds  our 
hearts  in  Christian  love  "  ;  but,  while  we  are  singing, 


158  A   man's   a    man. 

let  us  make  sure  that  there  is  nothing  of  patronage  or 
of  condescension  in  our  regard  for  those  who  are  one 
with  us  in  the  household  of  faith.  ' '  For  in  Christ  Jesus 
neither  circumcision  availeth  anything,  nor  uncircum- 
cision;  but  faith  which  worketh  by  love"  (Gal.  5,  6). 
Arid  finally  the  truth  enunciated  in  our  text  has 
a  distinct  bearing  on  our  attitude  as  Citizens  of  the 
World.  Sin  has  been  justly  defined  as  a  disturbance 
of  right  relations;  that  is,  of  our  relations  with  God, 
with  ourselves  and  with  our  fellow  men.  The  pur- 
pose of  Christ's  coming  into  the  world  was  to  read- 
just these  relations  by  destroying  sin.  To  this  end 
he  taught  us  to  say,  **  Our  Father  ";  and  in  those 
words  is  contained  the  sum  total  of  his  teaching,  even 
of  that  voiceless  sermon  on  the  cross  when  he 
stretched  out  his  hands  for  salvation  to  all  the 
children  of  men.  The  souls  of  all  are  equally  pre- 
cious to  him.  He  is  no  respecter  of  persons.  He 
tasted  death  for  every  man;  for  tramps,  beggars  and 
pariahs,  as  well  as  for  the  rich  and  learned.  Kings 
and  shepherds  met  at  his  cradle,  rabbis  and  the 
rabble  gathered  under  his  cross.  He  was  born  a 
peasant,  toiled  as  a  handicraftsman,  lived  a  man  of 
the  people,  and  died  for  all  sorts  and  conditions  of 
men. 
0.'  And  just  here  is  the  basis  of  Missions.  There  is 
no  difference  between  home  and  foreign  missions. 
'TT!ffe"'mari  whom  I  jostle  in  the  crowd,  whom  I  never 
met  before  and  shall  not  meet  again,  is  my  kinsman. 
So  is  the  man  at  the  antipodes,  who  is  at  this  moment 
burning  incense  before  the  altar  of  his  Joss.  The 
vicinage  has  nothing  to  do  with  it. 


A   man's   a   man.  159 

It    was    appropriate that  Paul,  who  had  been  a 

bigoToTltHeliarrowest  sort,  a  Pharisee  of  the  Phari- 
sees, transformed  by  his  vision  of  Christ  and  sent 
forth  as  missionary  to  the  nations,  should  trumpet 
this  truth :  "  God  hath  made  of  oiie  blood  all  nations 
of  men  for  to  dwell  upon  the  face  of  the  earth!  "  Our 
commission  is,  *'  Go,  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature."  How  could  it  be  otherwise,  since  every 
creature  to  the  remotest  corners  of  the  earth  is  my 
kinsman  by  birth  and  doubly  bound  to  me  by  ties  of 
blood,  the  blood  of  human  nature  and  the  sacrificial 
blood  of  Christ  ?  Noblesse  oblige  !  A  sense  of  noble 
birth  leads  to  a  noble  obligation. 
^■^'^  One  of  the  most  tragic  figures  in  Scripture  is. that  of 
'"     Cain  fleeing  redharided  f rom  the  divine  presence.    It  is 

•"iT  11  -_ 

the  voice  of  paternal  love  that  calls  after  him,  "  Cain 
where  is  thy  brother  ?  "  And  it  is  the  voice  of  all  social, 
political  and  ecclesiastical  recreancy  that  answers 
back,  "Am  I  my  brother's  keeper?"  The  brand  upon 
the  forehead'  ofthat  fugitive  is  "  Self  " ;  and  every  self- 
isolated  soul  is  a  Cainite.  There  is  no  more  convinc- 
ing argument  as  to  the  power  of  sin  in  the  disturbance 
of  normal  relations  than  that  which  we  hear  in  the  fre- 
quent words,  "I  do  not  believe  in  Foreign  Missions." 
"^  Set  over  against  that  figure  of  Cain  the  more 
tragic  figure  of  Christ,  coming  from  heaven  to  read- 
just our  disturbed  and  troubled  life.  Hear  his  words, 
"And  when  ye  pray  say,  ''Our  Father.'"  Recall 
his  life  written  in  the  brief  monograph,  "  He  went 
about  doing  good."  He  knew  no  difference  between 
souls  created  in  God's  likeness.  To  him  all  men 
were  sinners  alike  and  all  alike  possible  sons  of  God. 
*  *  Let  the  mind  that  was  in  Christ  J  esus  be  also  iny  ou^" 


LIGHT  OR  DARKNESS;  A  QUESTION 
OF  STANDPOINTS 

"  And  the  pillar  of  cloud  went  from  before  their  faces  and  stood  behind 
them  ;  and  it  came  between  the  camp  of  the  Egyptians  and  the  camp  of  the 
Israelites ;  and  it  was  a  cloud  of  darkness  to  them,  but  it  gave  light  by  night 
to  these." — Exodus  14,  19,  20. 

The  reference  is  to  the  pillar  of  cloud  in  which 
God  made  himself  manifest.  In  the  Targums  it  is 
called  the  Shekinah;  but  in  the  Scriptures  it  is  vari- 
ously characterized  as  "  the  Glory,"  "the  Presence  " 
and  "the  Pillar."  It  appears  in  the  oldest  book  of 
the  Scriptures  as  a  whirlwind,  out  of  which  God 
speaks  to  Job,  saying,  "  Who  is  this  that  darkeneth 
counsel  by  words  without  knowledge  ?  Gird  up  now 
thy  loins  like  a  man ;  for  I  will  demand  of  thee,  and 
answer  thou  me"  (Job  37,  1-3). — On  the  departure 
of  the  Israelites  from  the  land  of  Egypt,  "  The  Lord 
went  before  them  by  day  in  a  pillar  of  cloud  and  by 
night  in  a  pillar  of  fire  to  lead  them  the  way."  This 
cloud  was  seen  just  above  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant  with 
its  Mercy-seat,  where  the  Lord  had  promised  to  make 
himself  known  to  his  worshiping  people  (Num.  9, 
15-23). — And  it  is  mentioned  again  at  the  dedication 
of  the  temple.  The  king  stood  in  the  presence  of  the 
assembled  multitude  while  the  weather-beaten  Ark  of 
the  Covenant  was  brought  up  and  reverently  placed 

(160) 


LIGHT  OR  darkness;    A  QUESTION  OF  STANDPOINTS.     l6l 

"in  the  oracle  of  the  house."  And  it  came  to  pass, 
when  the  priests  came  out  of  the  Holy  Place,  "the 
cloud  filled  the  house  so  that  they  could  not  stand  to 
minister  because  of  it,  for  the  glory  of  the  Lord  had 
filled  the  house  "  (I.  Kings  8,  lo). 

The  cloud  reappears  in  the  New  Testament  at  the 
time  of  the  Advent,  when,  as  the  shepherds  were 
keeping  watch  over  their  flocks  in  the  fields,  the 
Angel  of  the  Lord  came  down  and  "  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  shone  round  about  them,"  and  the  song  was 
heard,  "  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  on  earth  peace, 
good-will  toward  men "  (Luke  2,  9). — And  again 
when  Jesus  went  up  into  the  Mount  of  Transfigura- 
tion with  Peter  and  James  and  John ;  the  cloud  over- 
shadowed them  (Mark  9,  7),  to  which  Peter  referred 
thirty  years  later  on  this  wise:  "He  received  from 
God  the  Father  honor  and  glory,  when  there  came 
such  a  voice  to  him  from  the  excellent  glory.  This  is 
my  beloved  Son  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased  "  (IL 
Pet.  I,  17). — And  finally  at  the  close  of  our  Lord's 
ministry,  when  he  met  his  disciples  on  Olivet  to 
say  farewell;  "Behold,  he  was  taken  up,  and  a  cloud 
received  him  out  of  their  sight"  (Acts  i,  9). 

Our  attention  is  directed  in  the  text  to  a  singular 
fact,  connected  with  this  cloud  at  the  crossing  of  the 
Red  Sea.  The  people  were  in  a  panic  because  they 
could  hear  the  footfall  of  the  approaching  host  of 
Egypt;  and  Moses  said,  "  Fear  not,  stand  still  and 
see  the  salvation  of  God."  Then  the  pillar  of  cloud 
rose  from  before  them,  and  began  to  move  slowly 
and  majestically  backward  along  the  sky,  taking  its 
position  midway  between  them  and  their  pursuers. 
And  to  the  Egyptians  it  was  dark  as  midnight;  but 


i62  LIGHT  OR  darkness;  a  question  of  standpoints. 

to  Israel  it  shone  like  a  burnished  shield  casting  its 
light  before  them  to  guide  the  way. 

We  find  a  suggestion  here  of  the  bifrontal  char- 
acter of  all  spiritual  truth.  It  is  difficult  to  see  how 
God  could  reveal  himself  or  any  of  the  great  verities 
which  center  in  him  except  with  a  penumbra  of 
mystery.  The  possibility  of  apprehending  truth 
must  ever  carry  with  it  an  alternative  of  misconcep- 
tion ;  that  which  giveth  a  savor  of  life  unto  life  giveth 
also  a  savor  of  death  unto  death.  The  truth  which 
is  light  to  one  is  darkness  to  another;  and  whether 
it  be  light  or  darkness  is  wholly  a  question  of  stand- 
point. It  is  well  for  truth-seekers  to  take  this  into 
the  reckoning:  it  is  a  matter  of  supreme  importance 
whether  they  stand  with  the  Egyptians  or  with  the 
people  of  God. 

Let  us  take,  to  begin  with,  the  supreme  truth  j  to 
wit,  God  himself .  It  is  of  preeminent  importance  that 
we  should  find  him,  since  "this  is  life  eternal,  to 
know  God."  It  is  easy  to  speak  his  name  ;  but  how 
difficult  to  apprehend  the  content  of  it.  It  is  easy  to 
say,  Omnipotence,  Omniscience,  Omnipresence  ; 
but  when  we  try  to  comprehend  their  meaning,  it  is 
like  grasping  a  handful  of  air.  God  "  dwelleth  in 
light  unapproachable."  If  he  reveal  himself  at  all, 
it  must  be  in  an  adumbration,  in  some  form  adjusted 
to  human  eyes.  We  search  after  him  and  the  horizons 
retreat  at  our  approach.  We  cry,  "O  that  I  knew 
where  I  might  find  him."  We  are  like  blind  men 
feeling  their  way  along  the  wall.  Now  and  then  one 
of  the  earnest  company  cries,  '*  I  have  found  him 
and  his  name  is  Law";  but  this  somehow  does  not 
satisfy  us.     And  another  cries,  "  I  have  found  him  ; 


LIGHT  OR  darkness;    A  QUESTION  OF  STANDPOINTS.     163 

he  is  the  All-pervading  Soul  of  the  universe  " ;  but 
this  also  is  inadequate.  And  others,  baffled,  build 
an  altar  and  inscribe  upon  it,  "To  the  unknown 
God."  Nor  can  any  better  result  be  looked  for  so 
long  as  we  pursue  our  quest  by  the  light  of  reason 
alone.      "  Canst  thou  by  searching  find  out  God  ?" 

But  change  the  standpoint  :  Come  over  among 
his  people  ;  and  lo,  the  cloud  that  was  darkness  is 
bright  as  day.  For  Christ  is  standing  among  us, 
"  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily  " ;  as  it  is  written, 
**The  word  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us  ; 
and  we  beheld  his  glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only- 
begotten  Son  of  the  Father."  His  name  is  Em- 
manuel, God  with  us.  He  says  of  himself  :  "  No 
man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time,  but  the  only-begot- 
ten Son,  which  is  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father,  he 
hath  declared  him."  He  teaches  us  to  say,  "Our 
Father  which  art  in  heaven. "  And,  looking  on  his  face, 
we  behold  all  that  humanity  can  apprehend  of  the 
nature  and  attributes  of  the  invisible  and  ineffable  One. 

The  same  holds  with  reference  to  our  view  of  the 
Divine  Word.  Here  there  is  a  vast  divergence  of 
opinion.  Are  the  Scriptures  what  they  claim  to  be, 
a  veritable  and  inerrant  statement  of  God's  mind  and 
will,  or  are  they  a  mingled  tissue  of  truth  and  false- 
hood? Everything  depends  on  the  standpoint.  To 
those  who  irreverently  approach  the  Oracles  they 
present  an  unbroken  front  of  darkness.  The  Bible  is 
"literature,"  and  nothing  else.  It  is  precisely  as 
when,  at  the  taking  of  Jerusalem,  the  Ark  of  the 
Covenant  was  opened  by  Titus:  he  was  curious  to 
know  why  the  Jews  viewed  it  with  such  superstitious 
reverence;  but,  on  throwing  open  the  wooden  chest, 


164   LIGHT  OR  darkness;    A  QUESTION  OF  STANDPOINTS. 

he  cried  in  amazement,  ''There  is  nothing  in  it!" 
So  would  the  burning  bush  have  seemed  to  Moses  had 
he  torn  it  asunder  in  a  spirit  of  irreverent  curiosity 
to  discover  why  it  burned  and  was  not  consumed. 

But  how  different  the  Bible  seems  to  those  who 
sit  reverently  at  the  Master's  feet.  That  which  was 
darkness  to  Egypt  is  indeed  light  to  Israel.  The 
Lord  speaks:  "  Search  the  Scriptures,  for  in  them  ye 
think  ye  have  eternal  life  and  these  are  they  which 
testify  of  me."  It  is  plain  now  that  the  Bible  with- 
out Christ  is  only  a  hemisphere,  and  needs  him  to 
complete  it.  The  Incarnate  Word  is  the  complement 
of  the  Written  Word ;  and  together  they  make  the 
perfect  sphere  of  divine  revelation.  Christ  is  him- 
self the  best  argument  for  the  inspiration  of  the 
Scriptures.  He  reasons  with  reverent  learners  as  he 
did  with  the  two  disciples  who  accompanied  him  to 
the  village  of  Emmaus,  when,  "beginning  at  Moses 
and  the  prophets  he  expounded  unto  them  in  all  the 
Scriptures  the  things  concerning  himself."  His  face 
shines  forth  from  every  page;  his  name  is  written 
between  the  sacred  lines. 

So,  also,  as  to  the  Doctrine  of  the  Divine  Sovereignty. 
"  Whom  God  foreknew,  them  he  also  did  predesti- 
nate to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  his  Son  ;  and 
whom  he  did  predestinate,  them  he  also  called  ;  and 
whom  he  called,  them  he  also  justified;  and  whom 
he  justified,  them  he  also  glorified."  We  are  stand- 
ing in  the  house  of  the  potter  as  he  forms  a  vessel 
on  the  wheel  ;  the  vessel  being  marred  in  his  hands, 
he  casts  it  away  among  the  useless  shards.  And  he 
maketh  again  another  vessel,  as  it  seemethgood  unto 
the  potter  to  make  it.     And  a  voice  is  heard,  "  May 


LIGHT  OR  darkness;    A  QUESTION  OF  STANDPOINTS.    165 

not  the  potter  do  what  he  will  with  the  clay  ?  "     This 
is  indeed  an  hard  saying;  who  shall  hear  it  ? 

But  cross  over  and  stand  with  Christ.  He  is 
saying  to  the  multitudes,  "  Come  unto  me  all  ye  that 
labor  and  are  heavy  laden  and  I  will  give  you  rest." 
And  again,  "Him  that  cometh  unto  me  I  will  in  no 
wise  cast  out."  Come!  come!  come!  It  is  the 
refrain  of  his  discourse.  And  again  the  cloud  that 
was  as  darkness  shines  like  a  sunrise.  This  word  of 
invitation  is  the  best  disquisition  on  the  divine 
decrees.  It  means  that,  whatsoever  view  may  be 
taken  of  predestination,  there  is  no  man  living  who 
is  not  free  to  accept  the  offer  of  eternal  life.  It 
makes  us  the  architects  of  our  own  fate,  else  the  Son 
of  God  was  but  mocking  the  bondage  of  those  whom 
he  called  to  deliverance.  His  offer  of  salvation  is 
to  the  uttermost;  "  All,"  "  Whoever,"  "Whosoever 
will,  let  him  come." 

Or  take  the  Doctrine  of  the  Divine  Providence.  We 
dwell  in  a  very  tempest  of  mingled  and  conflicting 
forces ;  war  and  peace,  pain  and  pleasure,  weeping  and 
laughter,  the  wicked  exalted  and  the  righteous  cast 
down.  How  shall  we  solve  the  mystery  ?  To  those 
who  stand  on  the  dark  side  of  the  cloud  it  is  inexplic- 
able. They  are  perplexed  as  was  the  author  of 
Ecclesiastes;  "I  applied  my  heart  to  search  and  to 
find  out  wisdom  and  the  reason  of  things,  and, 
behold,  one  thing  happeneth  to  the  fool  and  to  the 
Wiseman";  all  alike  are  buffeted  by  fate.  "What 
is  better  for  a  man  therefore,  than  to  eat  and  drink 
and  delight  himself  in  the  sight  of  his  eyes  ?  Vanity 
of  vanities,  saith  the  preacher,  all  is  vanity  and 
vexation  of  spirit. " 


1 66  LIGHT  OR  darkness;  a  question  of  standpoints. 

But  let  a  man  come  over  to  the  Godward  side, 
and  the  bright  light  is  over  him.  He  stands  with 
Jesus  on  the  slopes  of  Olivet,  hearing  him  say, 
"Consider  the  lilies  of  the  field,  how  they  grow; 
they  toil  not,  neither  do  they  spin ;  and  yet  I  say 
unto  you,  That  even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was 
not  arrayed  like  one  of  these.  Wherefore,  if  God 
so  clothe  the  grass  of  the  field,  which  to-day  is,  and 
to-morrow  is  cast  into  the  oven,  shall  he  not  much 
more  clothe  ye,  O  ye  of  little  faith  ?  "  So,  then,  the 
other  name  of  Providence  is  the  loving,  caring  God. 
And  again:  "Consider  the  fowls  of  the  air;  they 
sow  not,  neither  do  they  reap,  nor  gather  into  barns; 
yet  your  heavenly  Father  feedeth  them.  Are  ye  not 
much  better  than  they  ?  "     What  does  this  mean  ? 

"  Howl,  winds  of  night,  your  force  combine; 
Without  his  high  behest, 
Ye  shall  not  in  the  mountain  pine 
Disturb  the  sparrow's  nest!  " 

God  sitteth  as  a  refiner  of  silver.  If  he  be  for  us, 
who  shall  be  against  us  ?  All  things  work  together 
for  good  to  them  that  love  God. 

As  to  our  view  of  the  Divine  Holiness^  furthermore, 
the  standpoint  is  equally  important.  No  truth  is 
more  repellant  than  God's  holiness  to  the  natural 
man.  It  is  like  the  brightness  of  the  sun,  which, 
when  converged  into  the  white  solar  ray,  is  dark  by 
very  reason  of  its  brightness,  and  blinding  to  the 
eyes.  Isaiah,  after  his  vision  of  the  Lord  sitting 
upon  his  throne,  with  the  Seraphims  crying  one  to 
another,  "Holy,  holy,  holy  is  the  Lord  of  hosts!" 
exclaimed,  "Woe  is  me!  for  I  am  undone;  because  I 
am  a  man  of  unclean  lips,  and  I  dwell  in  the  midst  of  a 


LIGHT  OR  darkness;    A  QUESTION  OF  STANDPOINTS.     1 67 

people  of  unclean  lips;  and  mine  eyes  have  seen  the 
King. "  A  similar  vision  must  ever  amaze  and  bewilder 
us.  It  was  natural  that  Adam,  on  sinning,  should  flee 
at  once  and  hide  himself  from  the  face  of  God. 

But  when  a  sinful   man,  coming  out  from  the  fel- 
lowship of  Egypt  under  the  power  of  divine  grace, 
takes  his  position  with  Christ,    the  divine  holiness 
becomes   as  attractive  to  him   as   it  was  previously 
repellent;  since  in  Christ  he  perceives  that  his  high 
destiny  is   to  become  partaker   of  it.     This    is    the 
meaning  of  that  rending  of  the  veil  which  occured 
when  Jesus    on    his    cross  cried,    "It  is   finished  !" 
By  the  rending  of  that  veil  a  new  and  living  way  was 
opened  up  into  the   Holiest  of  All  ;  as  it   is  written, 
"We    have    therefore    boldness    to    enter    into    the 
Holiest  of  All  by  the  blood  of  Jesus,  by  a  new  and 
living  way,  which  he  hath  consecrated  for  us,  through 
the  veil,  that  is  to  say,  his  flesh."     In  the  inner  place 
of  the  Lord's  pavilion  we  find   the  mercy-seat  sprin- 
kled with  blood;  and   there,   bowing  before  him  in 
the  gospel  of  reconciliation,  we  hear  his  word,  "Be 
ye  holy  for  I    am   holy!"     The  highest  thought  of 
which  the  Christian   is  capable  thenceforth  is  that 
ultimately  he  shall  be  like  God,  since  he   shall  see 
him  as  he  is. 

We  now  turn  to  the  Divine  Law.  At  Sinai  there 
were  such  tokens  of  God's  majesty  as  were  never 
seen  elsewhere.  The  mountain  was  all  aflame  and 
the  earth  shook  and  trembled;  the  darkened  sky  was 
rent  with  vivid  flashes  of  lightning;  the  trumpet 
waxed  louder  and  louder;  a  line  was  drawn  around 
the  base  of  the  mountain  to  prevent  intrusion,  and  if 
even  a  dumb  creature  crossed  this   limit  it  must  be 


1 68  LIGHT  OR  darkness;  a  question  of  standpoints. 

thrust  through  with  a  dart.  So  terrible  was  the 
appearance  of  the  divine  justice  in  the  giving  of  the 
holy  Law.  And  the  people  stood  afar  off,  saying  to 
Moses,  "  Speak  thou  to  us  and  we  will  hear;  but  let 
not  God  speak  to  us,  lest  we  die!"  The  Law  of 
itself  is  terrible  because  it  is  implacable.  Well  may 
a  sinful  man  be  terrified;  since  the  penalty  is  this: 
*'The  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  die." 

But  how  different  does  the  Law  appear  to  those 
who  sit  learning  at  the  feet  of  Jesus.  He  summarizes 
the  Law  in  two  Commandments,  to  wit,  "Thou 
shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart"  and 
"Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  Love, 
then,  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  Law.  We  are  no  longer 
galley-slaves  bound  to  the  oar,  but  children  in  the 
household  of  a  kind  Father,  whose  precepts  we 
observe  because  we  love  him.  We  are  not  bondmen 
building  pyramids  to  the  glory  of  an  arbitrary 
Pharaoh;  but  devotees  of  righteousness,  running  in 
the  way  of  the  divine  ordinances,  because  we  have 
entered  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  God. 

And,  finally,  as  to  the  Gospel.  We  stand  at  Calvary, 
gazing  with  fleshly  eyes.  What  is  it  we  see?  A 
man  dying.  "The  people  stand  beholding,"  and  we 
among  them.  "  We  did  esteem  him  stricken,  smitten 
of  God  and  afflicted."  Here  are  some  who  say,  "  He 
was  a  reformer,  who  undertook  to  realize  a  dream  of 
moral  betterment  and  suffered  the  fate  of  all  reform- 
ers; gathering  into  his  devoted  breast  the  shafts  of 
the  adversary,  he  fell."  Others  are  saying,  "Here 
is  a  malefactor,  suffering  the  just  penalty  of  his  sins." 

But  there  is  another  viewpoint  which  brings  us 
into  a  clear  apprehension  of  the  saving  truth.      "  We 


LIGHT  OR  DARKNESS;    A  QUESTION  OF  STANDPOINTS.     169 

did  esteem  him  stricken,  smitten  of  God  and  afflicted, 
but — but  he  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions  and 
bruised  for  our  iniquities,  and  by  his  stripes  we  are 
healed."  The  burden  of  sin  under  which  his  heart  is 
breaking  is  my  sin.  The  blessing  which  he  pro- 
nounces with  his  pierced  hands  outstretched,  is  a 
blessing  of  pardon  for  me.  Thus  the  great  truth  of 
salvation,  which  is  foolishness  to  the  Greek  and  to  the 
Jew  a  stumbling-block,  is  to  them  that  are  saved  the 
wisdom  and  the  power  of  God. 

It  would  appear,  therefore,  that  all  apprehension 
of  truth  is  determined  by  our  attitude  toward  it.  The 
sweetest  and  profoundest  verities  have  in  them  a 
savor  of  life  unto  life  and  likewise  of  death  unto 
death.  Christ  himself  is  set  for  the  rising  and  falling 
of  many.  The  Three  Chosen  who  went  up  with 
Christ  into  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration  were  dazed 
and  bewildered  when  the  cloud  closed  around  him; 
and  "  they  feared  when  they  entered  into  it. "  But  so 
profoundly  were  they  impressed  by  the  things  which 
happened  while  they  were  communing  with  Jesus 
in  the  cloud,  that  they  presently  said,  "  Master,  it  is 
good  to  be  here;  let  us  build  three  tabernacles  and 
abide  in  this  place!  " 

If  we  would  solve  the  great  problems  that  make 
for  life  and  character  and  salvation,  we  must  have 
our  eyes  touched  by  the  Spirit  and  anointed  with 
eyesalve  that  we  may  see.  The  only  door  into  truth 
is  he  who  said,  "I  am  the  Truth,"  and  "I  am  the 
door."  If  once  we  enter  into  fellowship  with  him, 
seeing  with  his  eyes,  our  path  shall  thenceforth  be 
like  the  pathway  of  the  sun,  growing  brighter  and 
brighter  unto  the  perfect  day. 


THE  JOY  OF  THE  LORD 

"  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you  that  my  joy  might  remain  in  you 
and  that  your  joy  might  be  full."— John  15,  n. 

In  the  archives  of  Great  Britain  there  is  a  report 
of  an  old-time  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  in  which 
this  item  occurs:  "To  the  Jester;  For  making  the 
King  laugh;  One  sovereign."  It  is  quite  possible 
that  the  money  was  well  spent.  We  are  wont  to  say, 
"Uneasy  lies  the  head  that  wears  a  crown";  but 
there  are  many  crownless  heads  that  lie  on  sleepless 
pillows;  and  it  is  a  priceless  service  to  comfort  them. 
Blessed  are  they  who,  passing  through  the  Valley  of 
Baca,  make  it  a  well;  who  dissipate  grief  and  plant 
seeds  of  gladness  in  the  furrows  of  care. 

But  there   is  a  sorrow  which   no  Court  Jester  can 

alleviate,   a   sorrow   that   lies  deeper  than   tears,   a 

sorrow  that  can  only  be  assuaged  by  the  clear  waters 

that   gush  from    the   smitten    Rock    of   Ages.     The 

presence  of   Christ  cheers  us  in  our  dreariest  hours, 

makes  tolerable  the  sorest  burden  and  bitterest  pain, 

gives  beauty  for  ashes,  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning 

and  the  garment  of  praise  for  the  spirit  of  heaviness. 

Come  to  him,  my  friend,  in  your  trouble,  and 

"  The  night  shall  be  filled  with  music; 
And  the  cares  that  infest  the  day 
Shall  fold  their  tents  like  the  Arabs 
And  as  silently  steal  away." 

(170) 


THE    JOY    OF    THE    LORD.  I7I 

It  was  a  sad  company  that  gathered  in  the  upper 
room  on  the  night  before  the  crucifixion.  The 
shadow  of  death  was  over  them  ;  and  Jesus  preached 
a  wonderful  sermon  to  cheer  them  up.  It  was  at  the 
close  of  the  meeting,  when  he  was  walking  with  his 
disciples  to  the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  that  he  said, 
"  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you  that  my  joy 
might  romain  in  you  and  that  your  joy  might  be  full." 

What  were  "  these  things  "?  For  surely  the  Lord 
of  consolation  knew  precisely  what  to  say  in  such  an 
hour.  He  had  spoken  to  them  of  his  approaching 
death;  and  "their  hearts  were  filled  with  sorrow," 
which  he  vainly  sought  to  relieve  by  the  assurance 
that  he  was  going  to  reassume  "  the  glory  which  he 
had  with  the  Father  before  the  world  was." 

But  there  was  comfort  in  the  announcement  of 
his  great  bequest:  "Peace  I  leave  with  you,  my 
peace  I  give  unto  you :  not  as  the  world  giveth,  give 
I  unto  you.  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled,  neither 
let  it  be  afraid."  How  gracious  in  the  great  Testa- 
tor thus  to  open  his  last  Will  and  Testament  before 
he  went  his  way! 

And  there  was  comfort  also  in  the  assurance  of 
his" abiding  presence:  "  I  will  not  leave  you  comfort- 
less, I  will  come  to  you  " ;  an  assurance  afterwards 
emphasized  in  the  words,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway, 
even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  This  presence  was 
realized  in  the  gift  of  his  Spirit,  of  whom  he  said, 
"  He  shall  abide  with  you  forever,"  and,  "  He  shall 
bring  all  things  to  your  remembrance  whatsoever  I 
have  said  unto  you." 

And  there  was  comfort,  furthermore,  in  his  reve- 
lation of  the  glorious  Heaven  which  he  was  intending 


172  THE   JOY    OF    THE    LORD. 

to  prepare  for  them:  "In  my  Father's  house  are 
many  mansions;  if  it  were  not  so,  I  would  have  told 
you.  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you.  And  if  I  go 
and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  will  come  again,  and 
receive  you  unto  myself;  that  where  I  am,  there  ye 
may  be  also," 

And  still  another  of  the  comforting  things  was 
with  reference  to  the  right  of  petition  which  they 
were  to  have  in  their  season  of  waiting:  "Ye  shall 
ask  what  ye  will  and  it  shall  be  done  unto  you;  and 
whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  of  the  Father  in  my  name, 
he  will  give  it  you." 

But  the  realization  of  these  promises  was  wholly 
conditioned  on  their  loyalty  to  him.  He  had  just 
given  them  the  parable  of  the  Vine  and  its  Branches; 
in  which  was  emphasized  the  importance  of  their 
abiding  in  him.  This  was,  perhaps,  the  most  impor- 
tant of  the  things  which  he  had  spoken  unto  them, 
to  the  end  "  that  his  joy  might  remain  in  them  and 
that  their  joy  might  be  full." 

The  expression  here  is  singular.  The  fulness  of 
their  joy  is  only  to  be  accomplished  by  the  incoming 
of  his  joy.  In  the  Parable  of  the  Talents  the  Lord  is 
represented  as  saying  to  each  of  his  faithful  servants, 
"Enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord."  Here  is 
something  beyond  the  delights  of  common  life. 
Jesus  was  the  happiest  of  men  ;  and  we  shall  know 
the  secret  of  a  happy  life  when  the  joy  of  the  Lord 
abides  in  us.      But  what  is  this  joy  ? 

First.    The  Joy  of  Jesus  was  in   a   clear  vision  of 
truth.      He  saw  things  as  they  are.      The  solution 
of   all    great    problems    was    present    to    his    mind. 
The  misery  of  our  life  lies  largely  in  our  uncertainty 


THE    JOY    OF    THE    LORD.  173 

as  to  spiritual  and  eternal  things.  Peter  Pindar 
wrote, 

"The  sages  tell  us,  Truth  delights  to  dwell, 
(Strange  mansion!)  at  the  bottom  of  a  well; 
And  questions  are  the  windlass  and  the  rope 
That  draw  the  grave  old  gentlewoman  up." 

Our  life  is  full  of  queries  as  to  the  things  that  lie 
beyond;  but  Christ  had  need  to  ask  no  questions; 
He  knew.  He  did  indeed,  during  his  earthly  life, 
waive  the  full  exercise  of  his  divine  prerogative  of 
omniscience;  but  never  so  that  he  was  liable  to  doubt 
or  perplexity  or  in  danger  of  speaking  error.  He 
"  laid  his  glories  by  " ;  but  only  as  a  king  may  lay  his 
crown  here  and  his  scepter  there,  yet  always  within 
reach.  He  might  not  use  his  omniscience  at  every 
moment;  but  he  had  only  to  lift  his  eyes  and  lo,  the 
illimitable  landscape  of  truth  was  before  him! 

If  we  are,  at  this  point,  to  enter  into  our  Lord's 
joy,  it  must  be  by  implicit  faith  in  him.  And  faith 
means  to  take  him  precisely  at  his  word.  When  he 
asserts  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  all  controversy 
ends  for  us ;  and  we  can  no  more  enquire,  ''  If  a  man 
die,  will  he  live  again  ?  "  When  he  affirms  an  over- 
ruling Providence  in  the  care  of  birds  and  flowers 
and,  vastly  more,  of  us,  there  is  no  longer  room  to 
question  whether  all  things  work  together  for  our 
good.  When  he  declares  the  truth  of  Scripture  as 
the  veritable  Word  of  God,  it  is  recreancy  to  lend  an 
ear  to  any  denial  of  its  inerrancy.  And  when  he 
points  forward  to  a  reunion  in  our  Father's  house, 
the  darkness  of  the  open  grave  must  have  no  terrors 
for  those  who  believe  in  him.  We,  as  disciples,  sit 
at  his  feet,  learning  of  him.      He   unties  for  us  the 


174  THE    JOY    OF    THE    LORD. 

Gordian  knot  of  every  mystery.  He  puts  within  our 
hands  "the  golden  key  that  opes  the  palace  of 
eternity."  He  places  to  our  lips  the  living  waters  of 
truth.  His  word  of  authority,  "Verily,  verily  I  say 
unto  you  "  is  met  by  the  quick  response  of  certainty 
within  us,  "  I  know. "  And  herein  is  unspeakable  joy ; 
for,  as  Lord  Bacon  said,  "  There  is  no  pleasure  com- 
parable to  the  standing  upon  the  vantage  ground  of 
truth." 

Second.  The  Joy  of  the  Lord  was  in  a  perfect  self- 
respect.  Is  there  one  who  says,  "  I  am  a  moral  man  "  ? 
I  pray  you,  friend,  hide  your  face  or  it  will  betray 
you.  Sin  shames  a  man;  it  drives  him  out  naked  to 
dwell  among  the  tombs.  He  dare  not  look  into  his 
mirror  fixidly  lest  the  eyes  that  gaze  back  upon  him 
accuse  and  abash  him. 

But  Christ  was  without  sin.  There  was  no  guile 
on  his  lips,  nor  guile  in  his  heart.  He  was  sensible 
of  absolute  rectitude.  He  never  felt  a  pang  of  con- 
science. He  never  was  ashamed  to  face  another  man 
because  he  had  wronged  him.  He  never  shunned 
solitude  for  fear  of  being  disgraced  by  his  own  com- 
panionship. He  never  dreaded  the  sight  of  the  blue 
sky  because  it  spoke  of  the  unflecked  holiness  of  God. 
His  challenge  was,  "Who  layeth  anything  to  my 
charge  ? "  And,  behold,  there  was  none  to  answer 
him. 

If  we  would  enter  into  the  fellowship  of  this  joy 
of  the  Lord,  it  must  be  through  winning  back  our  self- 
respect  by  imitating  his  manner  of  life.  "  Let  us 
lay  aside  every  weight  and  the  sin  that  doth  so  easily 
beset  us,  and  run  with  patience  the  race  that  is  set 
before  us,  looking  unto  Jesus. "     We  speak  of  "self- 


THE   JOY    OF    THE    LORD.  1 75 

culture"   and   of   "spiritual   culture";  but    there  is 
none  except  in  reverently  gazing  on  Christ  and  fol- 
lowing in   his  steps.     This   means  to  avoid  the  sins 
that  he  hated  and   cultivate  the  graces  that  entered 
so  gloriously  into  his  character.     Had  Peter  remem- 
bered this  he  would  not  have  tarried   in  the  outer 
court,   warming  his  hands  at  a  fire  kindled   by  his 
Master's  foes,  but  would   have  pushed   his  way  into 
the  judgment  hall  to  stand  beside  him.     We  follow 
Christ  afar  off,  and  therefore  deny  him.     We  deny 
him,  and  then  he   turns  his  eyes  reproachfully  upon 
us,   and  we  go  out  and  weep  bitterly.     We  shame 
ourselves  by  lack   of  fealty  to  him.      Our  growth  in 
grace  is  measured  by  the  return  of  our  self-respect 
as  we  more  and  more  closely  follow  him.     Thus  the 
Lord's  joy  becomes  our  joy.      For  Dryden  said  truly, 
"Virtue  is  its  own  reward";    and    Horace,    "The 
garment  of  virtue,  though  it  be  rags  and  tatters,  will 
keep  me  warm." 

Third :  Our  Lor  as  Joy  lay  in  the  consciousness  of  duty 
done.  He  came  from  heaven  on  a  definite  errand, 
being  sent  of  the  Father  to  die  for  the  world's  sin. 
He  was  in  perfect  harmony  with  this  divine  purpose  ; 
as  he  said,  "Here  am  I,  send  me  ;  I  rejoice  to  do 
thy  will."  His  was  the  obedience  of  love.  His  soul 
was  in  it  ;  his  body  was  in  it.  Day  and  night 
unwearingly  he  addressed  himself  to  his  task.  He 
thought  of  it,  dreamed  of  it. 

Long  and  weary  was  the  journey  from  the  manger 
to  the  cross;  but  Jesus  plodded  on;  never  swerving 
an  hair's  breadth,  though  the  shadow  of  the  cross 
was  over  him.  He  never  repined.  He  never  com- 
plained   of  the   roughness   of   the   way.     He   never 


1^6  THE    JOY    OF    THE    LORD. 

shrank  from  the  bitterness  of  his  doom,  save  once, 
when  in  Gethsemane  he  put  the  purple  cup  from  his 
lips,  crying,  "  O  my  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this 
pass  from  me  !  "  And  even  then  he  showed  his  per- 
fect acquiescence  when  he  added,  "If  it  be  not  pos- 
sible, thy  will  be  done!  " 

So  he  came  to  Calvary,  and  made  bare  his  arm  to 
the  mighty  task.  As  he  hung  between  heaven  and 
earth,  uplifting  on  his  devoted  heart  the  burden  of 
the  world's  sin,  the  Tempter  cried,  "Comedown!" 
But  he  was  doing  a  great  work  and  could  not  come 
down.  He  suffered  on  until  with  a  mighty  cry,  "  It 
is  finished!"  he  yielded  up  the  ghost  ; — and  never  in 
all  history  lived  another  who  could  say,  "I  have 
finished  the  work  thou  gavest  me  to  do." 

In  order  to  participate  in  this  joy  of  the  Lord  we 
must  scrupulously  obey  him.  We  are  "sent,"  as 
really  as  he  was.  Did  he  not  say,  "As  the  Father 
hath  sent  me  into  the  world,  so  send  I  you?  "  His 
joy  was  in  his  perfect  accord  with  the  Father's  plan. 
We  share  in  that  joy  only  as  we  enter  into  sympathy 
with  Christ  in  his  strong  endeavor  for  the  salvation 
of  souls.  But,  alas!  we  forget  our  errand.  We  are 
like  messenger  boys  who  turn  aside  to  play  along 
the  way.  The  Lord  finds  us  in  the  market-place 
and  says  reproachfully,  "  Why  stand  ye  here  idle  all 
the  day?  Lift  up  your  eyes  and  see;  behold,  the 
fields  are  white  unto  the  harvest !  Here  is  thy  sickle ; 
go,  reap  for  God."  We  must  not  be  diverted.  San- 
ballat  and  Tobiah  are  ever  saying  to  the  builders 
on  the  walls,  "Come  down  and  confer  with  us.'' 
But  we  are  doing  a  great  work,  and  we  cannot 
come    down.       Just    here,    in    calm    and   loyal  per- 


THE    JOY    OF    THE    LORD.  1 77 

sistence  in  faithful  service,  lies  the  secret  of  spiritual 
peace. 

One  more  day's  work  for  Jesus; 

One  less  of  life  for  me! 
But  heaven  is  nearer, 
And  Christ  is  dearer, 

Than  yesterday  to  me. 
O  blessed  work  for  Jesus, 

O  rest  at  Jesus'  feet! 
There  toil  seems  pleasure; 
My  wants  are  treasure, 
And  pain  for  Him  is  sweet. 
Lord,  if  I  may, 
ril  serve  another  day. 

Fourth.  The  Joy  of  the  Lord  was  in  large  measure 
due  to  his  great  hope.  It  had  been  prophesied  of  him, 
"When  thou  shalt  make  his  soul  an  offering  for 
sin,  he  shall  see  his  seed,  he  shall  prolong  his  days 
and  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord  shall  prosper  in  his 
hand."  He  knew  the  end  from  the  beginning.  He 
foresaw  the  scourge,  the  crown  of  thorns,  the  agony 
of  Golgotha;  but  beyond  the  cross  he  saw,  as  in  a 
constant  vision,  a  great  multitude  redeemed  from 
death  as  the  fruit  of  the  travail  of  his  soul:  and  he 
heard  them  crying,  "Worthy  art  thou  to  receive 
honor  and  glory  and  power  and  dominion  ;  for  thou 
was  slain  and  hast  redeemed  us,  out  of  every  nation 
and  kindred  and  people  and  tribe,  and  hast  made  us 
to  be  kings  and  priests  unto  God!  "  What  was  pain 
to  him?  What  were  sorrow  and  loneliness?  He  could 
pass  through  the  midnight  of  divine  abandonment, 
could  drink  the  bitterest  dregs  of  the  cup  of  anguish 
on  his  way  to  such  triumph.  He  was  glad  because 
he  knew.  He  agonized ;  but,  even  in  his  agony,  the  joy 
of  the  eternal  hope  swept  over  him. 


178  THE   JOY    OF   THE   LORD. 

And  he  would  share  that  joy  with  us.  But  such 
participation  is  impossible  unless  we  also  have  the 
upward  look.  The  familiar  saying,  "  Hope  springs 
eternal  in  the  human  breast,"  is  not  true.  We  wan- 
der forth,  oftentimes,  like  David  among  the  fastnesses 
of  the  mountains,  mourning,  "Why  art  thou  cast 
lown,  O  my  soul,  and  why  art  thou  disquieted 
ivithin  me?  "  And  life  is  not  worth  living,  until  we 
can  rally  our  lost  courage  with  the  cry,  "  Hope  thou 
in  God !  For  I  shall  yet  praise  him  who  is  the  health 
of  my  countenance  and  my  God." 

Ours  is  indeed  "the  hope  that  maketh  not 
ashamed."  We  look  forward  to  a  great  apocalypse 
when  truth  shall  be  unveiled.  "  Now  we  see  as  in  a 
glass  darkly,  but  then  face  to  face."  O  rare  sur- 
prise! It  shall  be  as  Balboa  stood  on  the  heights  of 
the  mountains  with  the  Pacific  rolling  before  him. 
"  In  that  day  ye  shall  know." 

And  the  time  is  coming  when  we  shall  also  regain 
our  self-respect;  when  sin  shall  be  dropped,  like  a  travel- 
stained  garment,  and  we  shall  put  on  the  fine  linen, 
white  and  clean,  which  is  the  righteousness  of  saints. 

And  in  that  day  we  shall  realize  also  the  joy  of 
duty  done.  We  shall  return  no  more  from  vain 
journeys  and  unfulfilled  commissions  to  mourn, 
"We  have  left  undone  that  we  should  have  done." 
It  is  written  that  there  "his  servants  shall  serve 
him." 

Thus  at  length  our  joy  shall  be  full.  This  was 
our  Lord's  desire  concerning  us;  not  only  that  his 
joy  should  remain  in  us  but  that  our  joy  should  be 
full.  Our  capacity  is,  indeed,  not  equal  to  his.  A 
gourd  will   not  hold  as   much  as  a  well;  but,  please 


THE    JOY    OF    THE    LORD.  1 79 

God,  when  I  have  filled  my  gourd  at  his  well,  his  joy 
and  mine  shall  be  equally  full. 

And  this  is  the  secret  of  a  happy  life.  The  world 
speaks  of  pleasure  as  its  "highest  good;"  and  men 
are  everywhere  singing  L'Allegro: 

"  Haste  thee.  Nymph,  and  bring  with  thee 

Jest  and  youthful  Jollity; 

Sport,  that  wrinkled  Care  derides 

And  Laughter  holding  both  his  sides. 

Come  and  trip  it  as  ye  go 

On  the  light  fantastic  toe!  " 
But  what  are  the  pleasures  of  the  world  to  this  joy 
of  the  Lord?  The  clink  of  glasses,  the  rattle  of  dice, 
the  sweetness  of  Sodom  fruit,  laughter  like  the  crack- 
ling of  thorns;  how  transient  they  are!  But  the  joy 
of  the  Lord  is  a  peace  that  passeth  understanding 
and  abideth  forever. 

It  was  not  strange  that  Paul  and  Silas  sang  in  the 
prison  at  Philippi.  They  had  followed  the  Lord  in 
service  and  now  were  sharing  in  his  joy.  Their  backs 
were  smarting  from  the  scourge,  the  dungeon  was 
dark,  but  they  sang,  "and  the  prisoners  heard 
them."  Perhaps  they  sang,  "God  is  our  refuge  and 
our  strength ;  therefore  will  we  not  fear  though  the 
earth  be  removed  and  though  the  mountains  be 
carried  into  the  midst  of  the  sea."  Or,  "  Bless  the 
Lord,  O  my  soul,  and  all  that  is  within  me,  bless  his 
holy  name.  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  and  forget 
not  all  his  benefits."  Or  perhaps — for  they  might 
hear  the  footfall  of  the  executioner  at  daybreak — 
"Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear  no  evil;  for  thou  art 
with  me;  thy  rod  and  thy  staff  they  comfort  me." 
Thus  the  Lord  giveth  songs  in  the  night. 


l8o  THE   JOY    OF    THE    LORD. 

O  taste  and  see  that  the  Lord  is  good !  There  are 
moments  in  the  Christian  life  when,  alone  with  him, 
our  heads  are  anointed  with  oil  and  our  cup  runneth 
over.  But  the  sweetest  moment  that  a  Christian 
ever  knows  is  but  a  cluster  of  grapes  plucked  from 
the  vineyards  of  that  Land  of  Promise  to  which  we 
go.  Eye  hath  not  seen,  ear  hath  not  heard,  neither 
have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man,  the  things  which 
God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love  him.  But  this 
we  know,  "  In  his  presence  is  fulness  of  joy:  at  his 
right  hand  are  pleasures  forevermore. " 


THE  WASTE  OF  POWER 

"  But  surely  I  am  full  of  power  by  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord."— Micah  3,  8. 

This  man  was  not  an  egotist,  as  one  might  sup- 
pose ;  since,  while  sensible  of  the  possession  of 
power,  he  acknowledged  his  dependence  on  the  Lord 
who  gave  it.  He  lived  and  labored  in  the  reign  of 
Hezekiah  the  reformer,  with  whom  he  cordially  sym- 
pathized in  all  his  efforts  to  elevate  the  national 
churches.  The  book  bearing  his  name  is  bold, 
abrupt,  in  places  obscure,  but  always  full  of  a  lofty 
spirit  of  fearless  righteousness.  It  was  in  vindication 
of  his  right  to  speak  with  authority,  as  against  the 
assumptions  of  false  priests  and  prophets,  that  he 
cried  insistently,  "I  am  full  of  power  by  the  Spirit 
of  the  Lord!"  This,  I  say,  was  not  egotism;  but 
the  expression  of  a  most  admirable  self-respect,  due 
to  a  consciousness  of  holy  purpose  and  responsibility. 
Would  that  we  were  all  able  to  speak  in  like  manner! 
The  apostle  Paul,  a  man  of  the  same  pattern,  while 
humbly  conscious  of  his  own  shortcoming,  yet 
bracing  himself  against  the  divine  omnipotence, 
could  say,  "When  I  am  weak  then  am  I  strong;  I 
can  do  all  things  through  Christ  which  strengtheneth 
me!" 

Our  lesson  is  in  the  province  of  Dynamics;  and 
we  start  with  the  proposition  that  God  is  the  source  of 

(18.) 


l82  THE    WASTE    OF    POWER. 

all  power.  It  is  easy  to  say,  "Omnipotence";  but 
what  illimitable  voyages  of  exploration  are  contained 
in  it.  "God  hath  spoken  once,  yea,  twice  have  I 
heard  this,  that  power  belongeth  unto  God."  This 
means  more  than  that  nothing  is  too  hard  for  him. 
In  all  the  universe  there  is  no  atom  of  energy  which 
does  not  have  its  source  and  center  in  him. 

His  power  is  immeasurable.  What  pigmies  we 
are  beside  him!  "Canst  thou  bind  the  sweet  in- 
fluences of  the  Pleiades  or  loose  the  bands  of  Orion? ' 
Get  all  your  athletes  together,  with  ropes  and  pul- 
leys and  mighty  engines,  and  let  them  try  to  move 
one  of  the  planets  a  single  inch  from  its  appointed 
groove.  How  preposterous!  Yet  God  is  pushing 
all  the  multitudinous  orbs  in  the  infinite  field  of 
space  along  their  orbits  with  ease.  "  Lift  up  your 
eyes  on  high,  and  behold;  he  bringeth  out  the  host 
of  heaven  by  number  ;  he  calleth  them  all  by  name." 
Hear  the  mighty  roll-call;  "Orion!"  and  Orion 
answers,  "  Here  I  am!  "  He  summons  Arcturus  and 
his  sons,  and  they  fall  into  line.  "  For  that  he  is 
strong  in  power,  not  one  faileth  "  (Isaiah  40,  26). 

His  power  is  inexhaustible.  He  is  always  giving 
out,  like  the  sun,  yet  giving  doth  not  impoverish  nor 
withholding  enrich  him.  We  are  told  by  scientists 
that  the  sun  is  burning  up;  the  incandescent  mass, 
shining  through  its  photosphere,  furnishes  all  our 
heat  and  light;  and  it  is  estimated  that  its  surface  to 
a  depth  of  fourteen  miles  is  consumed  annually  in 
doing  so.  It  is  apparent,  therefore,  that  its  entire 
consumption  is  merely  a  question  of  time.  There  is 
no  occasion  for  alarm,  however,  since  the  sun,  being 
a  million  and  a  half  times  larger  than  our  earth,  will 


THE     WASTE    OF    POWER.  1 83 

last  for  some  millions  of  aeons.  And  were  all  the 
suns  in  the  sidereal  system  to  be  reduced  to  nothing- 
ness, there  would  still  be  no  ground  for  misgiving, 
since  back  of  these  and  all  other  depositories  of 
power  is  the  omnipotent  God,  the  inexhaustible 
source  and  fountain  of  all. 

Our  next  observation  is  that  man  is  not  only  a  de- 
pository of  energy  but  a  viceregal  master  of  it.     In  this  he 
is,  indeed,  not  sovereign  but  an  agent  of  God.      The 
word  by  which  the  Romans  characterized  the  dignity 
of  man,  vir,  is  cognate  with  vis,  meaning   strength, 
their  idea  being  that  man   is  himself   a   power.     In 
fact  he  has  no  energy  which  is  not  divinely  entrusted 
in  him.      He  is  lord  of  the  natural  forces,  as  he  has 
dominion    over   the    lower  orders  of   life,   by  God's 
appointment  (Gen.  i,  26);  but  he  can  create  no  atom 
of  power.      To   assert   this  would   be   to   deny   the 
scientific  fact  of  the  conservation  of  energy,  to  wit, 
that  the  sum  total  of  material  force  in  existence  is  a 
fixed  quantity.      No  new  force  is  created:  but  man  is 
a  potent  manipulator  of  energy,  in  that  he  can  trans- 
mute one  kind  of  power  into  another  and  make  indef- 
inite applications  of  it.      If   Franklin  or   Morse  had 
made  a  volt  of  electricity,  he  would  have  attained  a 
glory  never  yet  accorded  to  man.      As  it  is,  we  speak 
of   them,    and    of   Watt  and    Stephenson   and   other 
manipulators  of  power,  as  "wizards";  and  they  are 
entitled  to  that  designation,  because  they  have  laid 
hold  on  untamed  forces,  such  as  electricity  and  steam, 
and  harnessed  them  to  common  uses.    Let  it  be  under- 
stood, however,  that  all  their  ingenuity  is  exhausted 
in  transforming  one  sort  of  energy  into  another,  and 
making  new  adjustments  and  applications  of  it. 


184  THE    WASTE    OF    POWER. 

But  this  is  not  a  dissertation  on  mechanics.  //  is 
not  of  material  but  of  moral  energy  that  I  desire  to  speak; 
that  is,  of  the  energy  which  can  be  transmuted  into 
virtue,  character  and  usefulness.  It  has  pleased  God 
to  make  the  humblest  of  men  a  reservoir  of  such 
energy:  and  with  it,  of  necessity,  comes  the  respon- 
sibility of  its  proper  use.  There  is  no  searching  of 
a  man's  power.  We  are  able  to  apprehend  truth,  to 
reason  about  the  eternal  verities,  to  influence  our  fel- 
low men  and  to  glorify  God. 

It  is  impossible  to  measure  the  energy  thus  reposed 
in  us.  No  man  has  ever  yet  been  morally  exhausted. 
We  can  measure  our  physical  strength;  the  striking 
power  of  our  biceps  muscle,  the  lifting  power  of  back 
and  limbs;  but  we  cannot  estimate  the  possibilities 
of  our  souls.  And  herein  there  is  a  vast  difference 
between  moral  and  material  energy.  The  unit  of 
measurement  in  mechanics  is  horsepower;  and  the 
potency  of  an  engine  can  be  determined  to  the  frac- 
tion of  an  ounce.  But  no  dynamometer  has  ever 
been  invented  to  measure  the  moral  energy  of  a  man. 

The  question  arises.  What  becomes  of  this  vast 
deposit  of  moral  energy  ?  And  this  brings  us  to  the 
practical  point.  It  is  obvious  that  the  human  race, 
made  up  of  units,  each  endowed  with  unlimited 
power,  is  capable  of  magnificent  achievements.  Let 
us  suppose  for  a  moment  that  all  the  moral  power  of 
the  sixteen  hundred  millions  of  people  on  earth,  made 
in  God's  likeness  and  thus  splendidly  endowed,  were 
developed  and  exerted  to  the  utmost,  what  a  world 
ours  would  be!  Yet,  in  fact,  how  inadequate  the 
results!  How  little  there  is  to  show  for  all  this 
endowment!     What  then  becomes  of  it  ? 


THE    WASTE    OF    POWER.  1 85 

The  major  part  of  it  is  latent.  It  is  mere  potency 
and  never  becomes  power  in  its  real  sense.  A  man 
is  like  a  factory  adjusted  to  work;  wheels,  belts  and 
pulleys  all  in  place;  fire  in  the  furnaces;  the  vast 
machinery  in  motion,  but  turning  out  no  grist. — Or 
a  man  is  like  Niagara,  which  they  say  has  power 
enough,  if  properly  utilized,  to  operate  all  the  indus- 
tries of  our  country;  but  it  rolls  on  in  furious  indo- 
lence, pouring  over  its  rocky  shelf,  rising  in  floating 
mist,  with  only  its  faint  rainbow  to  symbolize  the 
glorious  suggestion  of  what  might  be. — Or  a  man 
is  like  the  flurry  of  snow  which  fell  yesterday  in  our 
streets;  of  which  the  scientists  say  that  every  flake  is 
possessed  of  immeasurable  potency ;  yet  on  my  way 
hither  I  saw  workmen  shoveling  it  into  carts  to  be 
cast  away. 

Let  us  look  at  manhood  from  the  standpoint  of 
utilitarians.  What  a  waste  of  power  there  is  in  this 
dormancy;  and  what  a  reckoning  there  must  be  when 
the  God  of  power  shall  demand  an  account  of  the 
possibilities  which  were  reposed  in  us!  For  "  power 
to  the  last  atom  is  responsibility  ";  it  has  value  only 
for  what  it  will  do.  We  are  a  vast  procession  of 
agents,  bearing  bundles  of  latent  energy,  journeyino- 
through  a  field  of  action  calling  for  infinite  endeavor 
and  dropping  only  a  fagot  here  and  there  as  we  pass 
on. 

And  of  the  small  modicum  of  power  which  we  do 
put  forth,  by  far  the  more  considerable  part  is  waste.  We 
waste  our  energy  in  fret  and  worry,  in  bearing  need- 
less burdens,  in  dreams  and  visions  and  vain  specu- 
lations. We  waste  it  in  "carrying  coals  to  New- 
castle," in  "letting  empty  buckets  into  empty  wells 


1 86  THE    WASTE    OF     POWER. 

and  drawing  nothing  up,"  in  building  castles  in  the 
air. 

But  worse,  we  make  a  lavish  outlay  of  our  energy 
on  vice.  We  tire  ourselves  out  in  fighting  against 
the  eternal  laws  of  our  being.  It  is  not  only  the 
thieves  and  gamblers,  the  drunkards  and  debauchees, 
who  burn  up  their  fuel  to  consume  themselves.  We 
are  all  guilty  according  to  the  measure  of  our  indul- 
gence in  sin ;  for  sin  is  always  vice,  and  vice  is  always 
waste.  The  prodigal  in  the  far  country  is  ever 
"wasting  his  substance  in  riotous  living."  Oh,  this 
lamentable  waste!  Lust  of  the  flesh,  lust  of  the  eyes 
and  pride  of  life! 

And  we  waste  our  energy,  also,  in  misdirection ; 
that  is,  in  the  pursuit  of  things  that  perish  with  the 
using,  and  which  are  not  worth  having  when  we 
possess  them.  What  are  all  the  people  doing  who 
throng  our  busy  streets?  Some  are  pursuing  pleas- 
ure, blowing  bubbles,  iridescent,  beautiful,  gone! 
Some  are  engaged  in  the  mad  chase  for  wealth, — a 
heavy  burden  if  they  gain  it;  and  death  unloads 
them.  Still  others  are  seeking  the  world's  honors 
and  emoluments,  which  must  soon  be  laid  by.  On 
the  day  of  the  Queen's  death  an  ex-champion  of  the 
prize  ring  said  to  an  interviewer,  "What  do  I  think 
of  Victoria?  I  think  she  wore  a  crown  she  never 
won,  since  she  was  born  to  the  purple;  and  now  she 
has  laid  it  down.  But  look  at  my  champion's  belt; 
I  fought  for  that,  won  it  by  hard  knocks;  and  it's 
mine!"  True,  so  far  as  this:  the  belt  and  the 
crown  are  both  alike  baubles  in  view  of  eternity; 
for.  the  good  Queen  and  the  vicious  slugger  must 
both  go  out  at  last,  one  woman  and  one  man,  stripped 


THE    WASTE    OF    POWER.  187 

of  all  adventitious  gains  and  possessions,  to  give  an 
account  of  themselves  before  God. 

It  must  appear  now  that,  after  deducting  the  bulk 
of  our  power  which  is  latent  and  the  major  part  of 
the  remainder  which  is  waste,  a  mere  modicum  remains 
for  profitable  u>e.  A  considerable  portion  of  this  is 
expended  in  the  gaining  of  a  livelihood;  and  this 
must  needs  be.  A  man  must  supply  his  physical 
necessities;  and  he  is  worse  than  an  infidel  if  he  does 
not  provide  also  for  his  own  household.  We  cannot 
escape  the  demands  of  bread-and-butter  work.  The 
divine  law  is,  "  If  any  will  not  work,  neither  let  him 
eat." 

But  life  is  more  than  livelihood  ;  infinitely  more.  Or, 
to  use  the  words  of  Jesus,  "  The  life  is  more  than 
meat  and  the  body  is  more  than  raiment."  The 
"life  "  referred  to  is  forever  and  ever.  That  which 
we  call  livelihood  is  for  three  score  years  and  ten  at 
most.  What  shall  be  said,  then,  of  the  folly  of  one 
who  employs  the  small  remnant  of  his  strength  in 
caring  for  his  welfare  during  a  handbreadth  of  time, 
while  all  eternity  is  before  him?  The  just  verdict  is 
that  which  was  passed  by  our  Lord  on  the  avaricious 
man, — "Thou  fool!  "  So  is  he  that  looks  to  his  tem- 
poral needs  only  and  is  not  rich  toward  God. 

The  things  that  are  worth  doing  are  three.  To 
begin  with,  sclf-culticre  in  the  building  of  character;  and 
then,  to  do  good  as  we  have  opportunity  unto  all  men ; 
but  most  of  all  and  supremely,  to  glorify  God.  For 
here  is  the  rational  ultimatum  of  all  human  endeavor. 
The  Brahmans  say  that  God  alone  is  real,  all  things 
else  being  Maya,  or  illusion;  and  man's  highest  hope 
is  to  attain    to  Nirvana,   that   is,   absorption   in   the 


l88  THE    WASTE    OF    POWER. 

ineffable  One;  "as  the  perfume  of  the  Lotus  flower 
is  exhaled  and  dissipated  in  the  air,"  or  "  as  a  drop 
of  water  falls  and  loses  itself  in  the  sea. "  It  is  true 
that  God  is  our  destination,  and  that  our  supreme 
hope  is  to  return  to  him ;  not,  however,  in  the  loss  of 
personal  identity,  as  perfume  dissipated  in  air  or  as 
a  drop  falling  into  the  sea.  Nay,  our  return  to  God 
is  as  the  coming  of  servants  into  the  presence  of  their 
Lord  to  render  an  account  for  power  entrusted  to 
them.  Blessed  is  he  that,  having  ten  talents,  can 
say:  "Lord,  they  have  gained  thee  ten  more." 
Blessed  is  he  that,  having  five,  can  say,  "  Lord,  they 
have  gained  thee  five  more."  But  shame  and  sorrow 
eternally  to  him  who,  having  one  talent  of  power, 
must  say,  "I  hid  it  in  a  napkin,  and  buried  it  in  the 
ground."     Let  his  talent  be  taken  from  him! 

Is  it  not  appalling  to  reflect,  in  view  of  our  high 
dignity  as  depositories  of  a  divine  trust,  and  in  view 
of  the  responsibility  attendant  upon  it,  that  so  small 
a  superflux  of  our  energy  should,  at  the  best,  be 
used  for  the  glory  of  Him  who  is  worthy  of  all  ? 

If  we  would  make  the  most  of  ourselves  in  the 
utilization  of  the  power  committed  to  us,  we  must 
needs  get  into  a  right  attitude  toward  God.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  we  are  not  makers  of  power,  but 
mere  agents,  avenues  and  intermediaries  of  it.  God 
puts  energy  into  us  that  he  may  pass  it  through  us. 
A  man  is  like  a  dynamo,  which  is  intended  to  trans- 
form and  transmit  power,  but  is  useless  unless  in 
contact  with  the  dynamic  source.  A  man  who  does 
not  transmit  is  as  worthless,  in  the  great  economy, 
as  a  dynamo  at  rest.  The  vital  point  of  contact  with 
God  is  at  Calvary.     Here  God  comes  down  our  souls 


THE    WASTE    OF     POWER.  189 

to  meet.  Here  we  enter  into  fellowship  with  him, 
as  he  has  manifested  himself  in  Christ,  in  the  interest 
of  personal  virtue,  benevolence  and  piety.  It  is  only 
by  thus  entering  into  collaboration  with  Jesus  that 
we  glorify  God. 

The  church  professes  to  be  in  sympathy  with  the 
great  purpose  of  Christ,  to  bring  the  sinful  world 
back  to  God.  It  has  entered  into  covenant  with  him 
to  this  end.  Oh,  what  unused,  what  wasted  power 
is  here!  In  1862  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  lay  in 
camp  at  Fair  Oaks  within  six  miles  of  the  Confeder- 
ate capital;  and  for  months  the  soldiers  busied  them- 
selves in  parading  and  digging  trenches,  until  from 
all  over  the  country  there  rose  an  indignant  cry,  "  On 
to  Richmond!  "  Thus,  through  the  centuries  has  the 
Church,  the  mobilized  army  of  Christ,  been  encamped 
within  sight  of  nations  waiting  to  be  made  prisoners 
of  hope.  Awake,  awake,  O  Zion;  put  on  thy 
strength!  There  is  a  voice  from  heaven  ever  calling, 
"Advance  to  the  conquest  of  the  world !"  When  will  the 
Church  know  her  power  and  her  responsibility?  The 
day  of  her  awakening  will  give  the  signal  of  universal 
conquest.  The  Lord  will  come  whenever  his  church 
shows,  by  her  holy  endeavor,  that  she  is  willing  that 
he  should  come  and  reign  among  us. 

But  the  important  lesson  is  personal,  after  all. 
The  church  is  only  what  its  individual  members  make 
it.  Be  thou  strong,  therefore,  my  friend,  in  the  power 
of  the  Lord!  Keep  in  close  touch  with  him.  Spend 
and  be  spent  like  him  in  the  behalf  of  men.  This  is 
the  life  of  faith  ;  for  faith  is  but  contact  with  God. 
There  is  no  hyperbole  in  the  Master's  word,  "  Verily, 
I  say  unto  you,    if  ye  have  faith,  ye  shall  say  unto 


190  THE    WASTE    OF    POWER. 

this  mountain,  Be  thou  cast  into  the  sea,  and  it  shall 
be  done. "  There  is  no  end  to  the  possibilities  of  a  life 
in  which,  by  faith,  potency  is  transferred  into  power. 
This  is  the  meaning  of  the  Parable  of  the  Vine  : 
"Abide  in  me  and  I  in  you  ;  as  the  branch  cannot 
bear  fruit  of  itself  except  it  abide  in  the  vine,  no 
more  can  ye  except  ye  abide  in  me.  I  am  the  vine, 
ye  are  the  branches  ;  he  that  abideth  in  me,  and  I  in 
him,  the  same  bringeth  forth  much  fruit  ;  for  with- 
out me  ye  can  do  nothing."  I  am,  indeed,  of  myself 
a  weak  and  unprofitable  servant  ;  but  I  can  do  all 
things  through  Christ  which  strengtheneth  me! 


IN  THE   UPPER   ROOM 

"  Then  the  same  day  at  evening,  being  the  first  day  of  the  week,  when 
the  doors  were  shut  where  the  disciples  were  assembled  for  fear  of  the  Jews, 
came  Jesus,  and  stood  in  the  midst,  and  saith  unto  them,  Peace  be  unto  you. 
And  when  he  had  so  said,  he  showed  unto  them  his  hands  and  his  side.  Then 
were  the  disciples  glad,  when  they  saw  the  Lord.  Then  said  Jesus  to  them 
again.  Peace  be  unto  you  :  as  my  Father  hath  sent  me,  even  so  send  I  you. 
And  when  he  had  said  this,  he  breathed  on  them,  and  saith  unto  them, 
Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost ;  whosesoever  sins  ye  remit,  they  are  remitted 
unto  them  ;  and  whosesoever  sins  ye  retain,  they  are  retained.  But  Thomas, 
one  of  the  twelve,  called  Didymus,  was  not  with  them  when  Jesus  came." 
John  20,  ig-24. 

This  upper  room  was  probably  in  the  home  of 
Mary,  a  rich  widow  of  Jerusalem.  The  disciples  had 
been  accustomed  to  meet  there  with  Jesus;  and,  now 
that  he  was  dead,  it  was  natural  that  they  should 
resort  to  the  familiar  place.  The  doors  were  shut; 
for  who  could  say  which  of  the  devoted  circle  might 
next  be  summoned  to  follow  in  the  red  footsteps  of 
their  Lord?  The  disciples  were  all  there,  except 
Thomas.  Mary  and  Martha  were  probably  present, 
with  other  of  the  ministering  women;  Joseph  of 
Arimathaea,  Nicodemus,  Cleopas  and  John  Mark, 
the  widow's  son.  All  were  profoundly  moved  by  a 
rumor  that  Jesus  was  risen  from  the  dead.  Some  of 
the  women,  who  that  morning  had  gone  to  Joseph's 
garden,  reported  that  they  had  found  the  grave 
empty  and  had  seen  angels  who  said  to  them  that 
Jesus  was  risen.       Mary   the  Magdalene  had  a  still 

(191) 


192  IN    THE    UPPER    ROOM. 

more  impressive  story  to  tell:  how,  as  she  stood 
weeping  at  the  tomb,  Jesus  had  appeared,  calling 
her  by  name  and  bidding  her  go  straightway  and 
tell  the  disciples  that  he  was  risen.  Peter,  also, 
reported  that  he  had  seen  him ;  but  with  reference  to 
this  interview  there  is  a  significant  silence,  due  per- 
haps to  the  fact  that  Peter  had  not  previously  seen 
Jesus  face  to  face  since  his  denial  in  the  Judgment 
Hall.  Cleopas  and  his  friend  related  how,  as  they 
were  going  to  the  village  of  Emmaus  that  very  even- 
ing, a  wayfarer  joined  them  who  spoke  with  them  of 
Jesus  in  such  a  manner  that  their  hearts  burned 
within  them.  But  their  eyes  were  holden  so  that 
they  did  not  recognize  him  until,  as  they  sat  at  meat 
with  him,  he  took  bread  and  blessed  it;  and  then 
suddenly  they  knew  him!  And  straightway  he  van- 
ished out  of  their  sight.  To  all  this  the  assemblage 
must  have  listened  with  bated  breath;  doubt  alter- 
nating with  hope  and  wonder;  when  suddenly  Jesus 
himself  stood  in  the  midst  of  their  assemblage,  say- 
ing, "  Peace  be  unto  you!  " 

I  wish  I  had  been  present  at  that  meeting  in  the 
upper  room.  A  great  blessing  must  have  come  to 
those  who  attended  it.  As  long  as  they  lived  they 
would  not  forget  the  things  that  happened  that 
evening. 

I.  There  was  the  privilege  of  fellowship;  which  is  of 
itself  an  unspeakable  blessing.  The  social  instinct 
is  common  to  our  race.  We  are  made  to  flock 
together  like  sheep.  We  gather  in  congenial  groups, 
each  after  his  kind.  This  is  why  bachelors  are  seen 
going  to  their  clubs,  handicraftsmen  to  their  guilds, 
freemasons   to   their   lodges.      "Birds   of   a  feather 


IN    THE    UPPER    ROOM.  I93 

flock  together."  It  is  a  true  saying,  "  As  iron  sharp- 
eneth  iron,  so  a  man  sharpeneth  the  face  of  his 
friend."  An  anchorite's  life  is  abnormal.  No  mat- 
ter how  conceited  a  man  may  be,  he  usually  likes 
another's  company  better  than  his  own. 

But  this  social  instinct  is  not  suflicient  to  account 
for  the  delights  of  Christian  fellowship.  Our  Lord 
refers  to  a  mystical  union  between  himself  and  his 
Father;  saying,  "I  and  my  Father  are  one."  He 
intimates  that  there  is  a  like  union  between  him  and 
his  people;  as  in  the  parable  of  the  Vine  and  its 
Branches.  Still  further,  he  speaks  of  his  people  as 
bound  to  each  other  in  a  singular  oneness.  Thus  in 
his  sacramental  prayer  he  says:  "I  pray  for  them, 
that  they  all  may  be  one;  as  thou,  Father,  art  in  me, 
and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us,  that 
the  world  may  believe  that  thou  hast  sent  me." 
Here  is  a  bond  closer  than  consanguinity;  and  by 
its  manifestation  in  our  Christian  assemblages  the 
church  finds  its  utmost  usefulness;  for  scattered 
fagots,  flaming  to  no  purpose,  where  united  make  a 
mighty  conflagration.  He  who  holds  himself  aloof 
from  this  goodly  fellowship,  falls  short  of  his  spiritual 
possibilities.  John  and  Peter  and  James  apart  were 
mere  units,  but  heart  to  heart  they  were  decimally 
multiplied.  All  who  were  gathered  in  that  upper 
room  were  mutually  stimulated  in  their  Christian 
life. 

But  Thomas  was  not  there.  No  doubt  he  had  an 
excuse;  as  everybody  has  in  similar  circumstances; 
but  the  fact  remains,  that  whatever  of  blessing  was 
to  be  found  in  Christian  association  at  that  time,  he 
missed  it. 


194  IN    THE    UPPER    ROOM. 

II.  Those  who  attended  this  historic  meeting  had 
also  the  advantage  of  mutual  confe7-e7ice  on  matters  of  vital 
itnportance.  Malachi,  writing  of  a  period  of  spiritual 
declension,  says,  "Then  they  that  feared  the  Lord 
spake  often  one  to  another;  and  the  Lord  hearkened 
and  heard  it;  and  a  Book  of  Remembrance  was  writ- 
ten before  him  for  them  that  feared  the  Lord,  and 
that  thought  upon  his  name. "  The  theme  of  conver- 
sation at  this  meeting  in  the  upper  room  was 
Christ.  The  disciples  bemoaned  his  death.  "  O 
for  the  touch  of  a  vanished  hand,  and  the  sound 
of  a  voice  that  is  still!"  It  was  only  a  few  days 
before,  that  in  this  very  place  he  had  bidden  them 
farewell.  "Do  you  remember,"  they  are  saying, 
"  how  tenderly  and  affectionately  he  spoke  with  us  ?" 
Do  you  remember  this,  and  do  you  remember  that  ? 
But  their  interest  converged  on  Christ  as  revealed  in 
their  Scriptures;  for  the  two  disciples,  who  had  gone 
with  him  to  Emmaus,  told  how,  as  they  journeyed, 
Jesus,  beginning  at  Moses  and  the  prophets,  had 
"expounded  unto  them  in  all  the  Scriptures  the 
things  concerning  himself."  They  recalled,  no 
doubt,  his  reference  to  the  protevangel,  "  The  seed 
of  woman  shall  bruise  the  serpent's  head  " ;  and  to 
the  prophecy  of  Moses  respecting  One  greater  than 
himself;  and  to  the  words  of  Isaiah  concerning 
Christ  as  a  Man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with 
grief,  who  should  be  wounded  for  our  transgressions 
and  bruised  for  our  iniquities  that  by  his  stripes  we 
might  be  healed;  and  to  many  other  predictions  con- 
cerning his  life  and  suffering  and  death.  It  is  safe  to 
say  that  thenceforth  the  Bible  was  a  new  book  to  them  ; 
to  be  read  as  one  journeys  over  a  familiar  path,  when 


IN    THE    UPPER    ROOM.  I95 

he  has  discovered  new  flowers  blooming  on  either  side. 

But  Thomas  was  not  there;  and  the  Scriptures 
would  still  be  to  him  as  if  written  in  an  unknown 
tongue.  God  has  promised  to  reveal  truth  to  Israel 
at  "the  Tabernacle  of  Meeting;"  nor  can  the  most 
intense  devotion  to  study  by  the  light  of  midnight 
oil,  compensate  for  the  loss  of  those  insights  and 
revelations  which  he  reserves  for  his  people  who 
come  together  with  one  accord  in  one  place. 

Ill,  Observe,  also,  the  advantage  of  U7iitcd  prayer. 
Much  is  to  be  said  for  supplication  in  the  secret  place. 
"  Enter  into  thy  closet,  and  when  thou  hast  shut  thy 
door,  pray  to  thy  Father  which  is  in  secret;  and  thy 
Father  which  seeth  in  secret,  shall  reward  thee 
openly."  But  there  is  a  special  and  particular 
promise  to  such  as  come  together  for  prayer:  **  If 
two  of  you  shall  agree  on  earth  as  touching  anything 
that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be  done  for  them  of  my 
Father  which  is  in  heaven.  For  where  two  or 
three  are  gathered  in  my  name,  there  am  I  in  the 
midst  of  them  "  (Matt.  18,  19-20).  That  was  a 
mighty  supplication  which  John  Knox  offered  in  the 
solitude:  "  O  God,  give  me  Scotland  or  I  die!  "  but 
who  shall  estimate  the  prevailing  power  of  the  Cove- 
nanters, gathered  in  their  conventicles  among  the 
moors,  pleading  all  night  for  Scotland  ?  The  mists 
at  daybreak  rising  before  the  sun,  were  not  more 
impressive  than  the  thought  of  the  volume  of  their 
united  petitions  ascending  to  God.  A  man  is  always 
in  an  attitude  of  power  when  down  on  his  knees;  but 
he  becomes  a  very  Titan  when  his  petition  makes 
part  of  a  phalanx  of  prayers  to  take  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  by  force  (Mat.  ii,  12). 


196  IN    THE    UPPER   ROOM. 

The  upper  room  was  filled  with  an  atmosphere 
of  prayer  ;  but  Thomas  was  not  present  to  be  filled 
with  it,  enveloped  by  it,  surcharged  with  it.  Great 
was  his  loss.  He  may  have  been  praying  alone,  but 
the  blessing  reaped  in  solitude  was  not  to  be  compared 
with  that  which  awaited  him  by  Christ's  promise  and 
appointment,  in  this  gathering  of  the  disciples. 

IV.  But  there  was  a  greater  blessing  than  any  of 
the  foregoing  in  the  personal  presence  of  Jesus..  He 
came  and  stood  in  their  midst.  The  disciples  might 
have  anticipated  this;  for  had  he  not  said,  "Where 
two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my  name  there 
am  I  in  the  midst  of  them  "  ?  It  is  true  that  Christ 
is  everywhere,  by  virtue  of  his  omnipresence  ;  but 
he  has  promised  to  manifest  himself  in  a  peculiar 
manner  to  his  people  when  they  are  come  to- 
gether to  honor  him. 

If  I  were  authorized  to  announce  to-day,  that 
Jesus  would  visit  New  York,  next  Wednesday  even- 
ing, and  be  pleased  to  meet  his  people,  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  no  enclosure  would  be  large  enough  to  hold 
the  multitude  that  would  assemble  to  welcome  him. 
No  doubt  some  would  deliberately  absent  themselves; 
for  not  all  are  desirous  of  seeing  Christ.  Up  to  the 
time  when  Adam  sinned,  he  found  his  greatest  pleas- 
ure in  walking  with  God  in  the  cool  of  the  day  ;  but 
afterwards,  on  hearing  the  voice  of  God  in  the  gar- 
den, he  "  was  ashamed  and  hid  himself."  It  is  safe 
to  say,  however,  that  all  who  really  love  and  follow 
Jesus  would  honor  the  appointment.  Some  who 
have  been  burdened  with  age  and  bed-ridden  would 
insist  upon  being  carried  on  stretchers  that  their  dim 
eyes  might  gaze  upon  him.    Mothers,  who  have  long 


IN    THE    UPPER    ROOM.  197 

been  telling  their  children  of  the  beauty  of  the  face 
of  Jesus,  would  take  them  to  behold  him.  What  a 
host  would  assemble,  and  with  what  unspeakable 
delight  !  In  fact,  however,  we  have  precisely  such 
an  appointment  as  that  ;  the  Lord  has  promised,  in 
terms  clear  and  unmistakable,  to  be  present  with  his 
people  who  shall  at  that  time,  in  various  churches, 
assemble  to  commune  with  each  other  and  with  him. 

To  those  who  gathered  in  the  upper  room  he  ap- 
peared, despite  the  fact  that  the  doors  were  closed. 
What  are  bolts  and  bars  to  Christ  when  he  would 
keep  an  appointment  with  his  brethren  ?  But  Thomas 
was  not  with  the  disciples  who  saw  Christ  that  day. 
The  great  blessing  went  by  default,  because  he  had 
not  put  himself  in  the  way  to  receive  it. 

V.  There  was  the  benefit,  also,  of  his  salutation, 
^^ Peace  be  unto  you."  The  disciples  were  in  great 
trouble  ;  and  this  must  have  been  a  healing  balm  to 
their  souls.  They  had  parted  with  Jesus,  three  days 
before,  at  the  gate  of  Gethsemane,  where  "  they  all 
forsook  him  and  fled."  Since  then,  how  much  had 
happened  !  The  scourge,  the  buffeting  in  the  judg- 
ment hall,  the  crown  of  thorns,  the  bearing  of  the 
cross,  the  bitter  death  !  They  had  lain  awake  and 
seen  the  agonized  face  of  Jesus  during  the  watches 
of  the  night.  Theirs  was  a  bereavement  which  had 
seemed  beyond  all  comfort.  But  now,  behold,  he 
calms  their  troubled  souls  with  a  word,  as  when  he 
bade  the  tempest.  Be  still  ! 

But,  alas  !  Thomas  was  not  there,  and  his  sorrow 
remained.  How  many  needless  griefs  we  carry  be- 
cause we  will  not  come  where  Christ  may  lay  his 
benediction  of  peace  upon  us. 


198  IN   THE    UPPER    ROOM. 

VI.  And  then  consider  how  the  faith  of  the  disci- 
ples was  fortified  that  day.  The  record  says,  "He 
showed  them  his  hands  and  his  side  ;  then  were  the 
disciples  glad."  Well  might  they  be  glad  ;  for  in 
him  thus  triumphant,  "life  and  immortality  are 
brought  to  light."  He  that  was  dead  liveth  and  is 
alive  forevermore  !  The  seal  of  authenticity  is  put 
upon  his  gospel  ;  as  it  is  written,  "  He  was  delivered 
for  our  offenses  and  raised  again  for  our  justifica- 
tion." We  often  wish  that  our  dead,  whom  we  fol- 
lowed with  tears  to  the  border-land,  could  return 
and  tell  us  of  what  lies  beyond.  One  and  one  only 
who  has  thus  passed  through  the  portals  of  eternity 
can  and  does  return  to  enlighten  us.  The  upper 
room  was  that  day  like  a  Court  of  Justice  where 
Christ  and  his  gospel  were  vindicated.  The  disci- 
ples had  been  given  over  to  doubt  ;  wondering,  ques- 
tioning, hoping  against  hope.  But  doubt  vanished 
now  and  each  might  say,  "  I  know  whom  I  have  be- 
lieved, and  am  persuaded  that  he  is  able  to  keep  that 
which  I  have  committed  unto  him." 

And  Thomas  was  not  there!  He  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  assuring  himself  but  did  not  embrace  it; 
and  he  has  come  down  as  "Doubting  Thomas" 
through  the  ages.  We  hear  much  of  ' '  honest  doubt ;  " 
but  let  no  man  assert  that  his  doubt  is  honest  unless  he 
has  taken  all  possible  measures  to  dispel  it.  The  crucial 
test  of  honest  doubt  is  an  agony  to  get  rid  of  it. 

Vn.  And  finally,  the  disciples,  in  that  upper 
room,  received  again  the  great  Commission  and  tuith  it  an 
enduement  of  power.  The  Lord  had  previously  given 
them  this  commission,  in  this  very  room ;  but  after 
his  death  they  seemed  to  forget  it.      One  said,  "  I  go 


IN    THE    UPPER    ROOM.  1 99 

a-fishing ;  "  and  another,  "  I  also  go  with  thee. "  They 
had  hoped  that  Jesus  would  restore  again  the 
glory  of  Israel,  but  his  light  had  passed  under  an 
eclipse  and  they  might  as  well  quit.  Why  not  go 
a-fishing  if  Jesus  were  dead  ?  The  hope  of  universal 
conquest  had  turned  out  to  be  an  empty  dream.  But 
he  returns  now  and  repeats  "  As  the  Father  hath  sent 
me  into  the  world,  even  so  send  I  you."  And  having 
said  this,  he  breathed  on  them  saying,  "  Receive  ye 
the  Holy  Ghost!  "  Here  is  replenishment  of  power, 
indeed.  "  All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and 
on  earth;  go  ye,  therefore,  and  preach  the  evangel; 
and,  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world. "  They  can  never  lose  courage  again,  since  they 
have  seen  the  Captain  of  their  Salvation  and  been  armed 
and  panoplied  for  service  in  bringing  the  world  to  him. 

But  Thomas  was  not  there.  In  vain  did  his 
comrades  dwell  on  the  things  that  had  happened  in 
the  upper  room.  His  soul  was  torn  by  conflicting 
emotions  of  doubt  and  sorrow.  He  would  take 
nothing  on  hearsay;  "Except  I  shall  see  in  his 
hands  the  print  of  the  nails,  and  put  my  finger  into 
the  print  of  the  nails,  and  thrust  my  hand  into  his 
side,  I  will  not  believe!"  There  are  many  Chris- 
tians who,  thus  failing  to  use  their  opportunity  of  com- 
munion with  Christ,  go  bearing  their  burdens  alone; 
doubting  because  they  have  not  taken  occasion  to 
relieve  their  doubts,  and  weeping  at  Golgotha  because 
they  have  not  gone  forth  to  meet  the  risen  Christ. 

We  may  rest  assured  that  Thomas  said,  "I  will 
never  lose  another  opportunity."  A  week  later  the 
disciples  were  assembled  again  in  that  upper  room; 
"and   Thomas  was  with   them."     And  again  Jesus 


20O  IN    THE   UPPER   ROOM. 

Stood  in  their  midst,  saying,  *'  Peace  be  unto  you!  " 
And  he  saith  to  Thomas,  "Reach  hither  thy  finger 
and  behold  my  hpnds;  and  reach  hither  thy  hand 
and  thrust  it  in<"o  my  side;  and  be  not  faithless  but 
believing."  And  Thomas,  his  doubts  all  gone,  his 
soul  transported  with  the  joy  of  renewed  faith,  saith 
unto  him,  "  My  Lord  and  my  God !  " 

The  lesson  is  plain.  He  that  would  be  blest 
must  put  himself  in  the  way  of  blessing;  as  did  blind 
Bartimeus,  when  he  heard  the  footsteps  of  the  multi- 
tude and  learned  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  passing 
by.  We  have  ourselves  to  blame  for  barrenness  of 
soul.  A  student  in  Princeton  Seminary  came  to  Dr. 
Charles  Hodge  saying,  "  I  am  greatly  troubled  with 
doubts  as  to  the  cardinal  doctrines  of  the  Gospel. 
Will  you  go  over  with  me  the  arguments  for  the 
Being  of  God,  and  Immortality,  and  the  Atonement 
and  the  Personality  of  the  Spirit?"  His  instructor 
answered,  "It  is  not  argument  that  you  want,  my 
young  friend,  but  to  come  closer  to  Christ.  Get 
into  the  fellowship  of  service;  thrust  your  sickle  into 
the  harvest;  learn  the  joy  of  growing  weary  in  duty; 
and  your  doubts  will  vanish."  It  was  wise  counsel. 
The  way  of  duty  is  the  way  of  blessing.  Now  it 
comes  to  us  in  the  closet  and  again  at  the  Tabernacle 
of  Meeting.  Neglect  not  the  hour  of  secret  prayer; 
neither  forsake  the  assembling  of  yourselves  together, 
as  the  manner  of  some  is  (Heb.  lo,  25).  Life  is  too 
short  for  people  made  in  God's  likeness  and  journey- 
ing to  eternity  to  lose  any  opportunity  of  receiving 
a  blessing.  My  friend,  keep  close  to  Christ;  and 
wherever  Christ  may  be,  be  there  to  meet  him. 


BIRDS  OF  PASSAGE 

"  Behold  the  fowls  of  the  air."— Matt.  6,  26. 

"Yea,  the  stork  in  the  heaven  knoweth  her  appointed  times;  and  the 
turtle  and  the  crane,  and  the  swallow,  observe  the  time  of  their  coming  :  but 
my  people  know  not  the  judgment  of  the  Lord." — Jer.  8,  7. 

"  I  am  sure,"  said  a  friend  to  me  last  Monday, 
"that  I  heard  the  chirp  of  a  robin  this  morning." 
It  is  nothing  new  to  be  welcoming  the  harbingers 
of  spring.  "When  the  swallows  homeward  fly" 
was  sung  by  Anacreon  five  hundred  years  before 
Christ.  Homer  celebrated  the  return  of  the  water- 
fowl to  the  rivers  of  Asia.  Solomon  mingled  his 
welcome  to  the  birds  with  his  wooing  of  the 
Shulamite;  "  My  beloved  spake  and  said  unto  me. 
Rise  up,  my  love,  my  fair  one,  and  come  away; 
for,  lo,  the  winter  is  past,  the  rain  is  over  and 
gone,  the  flowers  appear  on  the  earth,  the  time  of 
the  singing  of  birds  is  come,  and  the  voice  of  the 
turtle  is  heard  in  our  land.  Arise,  my  love,  my  fair 
one,  and  come  away!  " 

It  is  a  singular  fact  that  the  arrival  of  the  birds 
is  always  on  schedule  time.  We  say,  '  One  swallow 
does  not  make  a  summer."  But  it  does;  that  is  to 
say,  it  makes  assurance  doubly  sure.  Not  more  cer- 
tainly do  "summer  people,"  who  leave  the  city  in 
June  for  the  seaside  or  the  mountain,  return  in  due 

(201) 


202  BIRDS    OF    PASSAGE. 

t'rxie  to  open  their  boarded-up  homes  with  keys 
that  grate  rustily  in  the  lock,  than  do  the  feathered 
pilgrims  come  back  in  their  appointed  season  to 
attend  to  annual  repairs  and  housecleaning.  So 
punctual  are  they  that  some  of  our  Indian  tribes 
name  their  recurring  moons  after  the  migratory 
birds.  In  the  regularity  of  their  flitting  they  seem 
to  prophesy,  as  from  a  divine  oracle,  that  summer 
and  winter  and  seedtime  and  harvest  shall  never  fail. 
It  is  singular,  also,  that  they  never  lose  their  way. 
Professor  Newton,  of  Cambridge,  says,  "In  the 
migration  of  birds  we  are  brought  face  to  face  with 
the  greatest  mystery  of  the  animal  kingdom";  his 
wonder  being  that  they  advance  so  unerringly  in  a 
continuous  flight  of  thousands  of  miles  over  oceans 
and  trackless  wastes.  You  have  heard  them,  as  you 
lay  awake  in  the  watches  of  the  night,  passing  over- 
head with  a  rustle  as  of  a  million  wings;  mingled 
cries  of  crane  and  cormorant,  of  swan  and  mallard, 
plover  and  sandpiper,  lark  and  cuckoo;  you  listened 
until  naught  was  heard  but  a  few  lingering  cries, 
then  the  stroke  of  a  solitary  wing,  then  silence. 
They  had  gone  on  their  long  pilgrimage  through  the 

night. 

How  are  they  guided  ?  Not  by  viston  ;  for,  not- 
withstanding the  marvelous  power  of  a  bird's  eye,  it 
cannot  pierce  the  darkness  nor  cover  the  course  of 
so  long  a  pilgrimage.  The  suggestion  that  they 
direct  their  course  by  some  occult  knowledge  of  the 
location  of  the  magnetic  pole  is  mere  hypothesis. 
The  view  of  Herr  Palmen  that  they  are  guided  by 
older  birds,  who  have  had  experience  along  the  way, 
is  insufficient.     It  is  true  that  wild  geese  fly  in  con- 


BIRDS    OF    PASSAGE.  203 

verging  lines,  with  one  old  backwoodsman  in  front, 
as  if  to  blaze  a  pathway  through  the  aerial  forests 
for  those  coming  after  him;  but  many  others,  like 
the  skylarks,  pursue  their  journey  alone.  To  say 
that  they  are  guided  by  instinct,  is  an  evasion;  since 
instinct  itself  remains  to  be  accounted  for.  I  think 
no  better  explanation  can  be  offered  than  that  which 
Bryant  gives  in  his  Ode  to  a  Water  Fowl; 

Whither,  midst  falling  dew, 

While  glow  the  heavens  with  the  last  steps  of  day, 
Far  through  their  rosy  depths,  dost  thou  pursue 

Thy  solitary  way  ? 

Vainly  the  fowler's  eye 

Might  mark  thy  distant  flight  to  do  thee  wrong, 
As,  darkly  painted  on  the  distant  sky, 

Thy  figure  floats  along. 

Seekstthou  the  plashy  brink 

Of  weedy  lake,  or  marge  of  river  wide, 
Or  where  the  rocking  billows  rise  and  sink 

On  the  chafed  ocean  side  ? 

There  is  a  Power  whose  care 

Teaches  thy  way  along  the  pathless  coast — 
The  desert  and  illimitable  air — 

Lone  wandering,  but  not  lost. 

All  day  thy  wings  have  fanned. 

At  that  far  height,  the  cold,  thin  atmosphere. 

Yet  stoop  not  weary  to  the  welcome  land, 
Though  the  dark  night  is  near. 

And  soon  that  toil  shall  end; 

Soon  shalt  thou  find  a  summer  home,  and  rest 
And  scream  among  thy  fellows;  reeds  shall  bend 

Soon  o'er  thy  sheltered  nest. 

Thou'rt  gone  !     The  abyss  of  heaven 

Hath  swallowed  up  thy  form  ;  yet  on  my  heart 

Deeply  hath  sunk  the  lesson  thou  hast  given, 
And  shall  not  soon  depart ; 


204  BIRDS    OF     PASSAGE. 

He  who,  from  zone  to  zone, 

Guides  through  the  boundless  sky  thy  certain  flight, 
In  the  long  way  that  I  must  tread  alone, 

Will  guide  my  steps  aright. 

It  is  not  my  purpose,  however,  to  present  a  dis- 
quisition in  ornithology,  a  science  which  has  no 
present  concern  for  us  except  as  it  overlaps  the  larger 
province  of  theology.  We  have  to  do  with  the  hom- 
ing habit  of  the  birds  only  so  far  as  it  touches  the 
problem  of  human  life  and  destiny.  Our  Master 
said,  "Behold,  the  fowls  of  the  air."  He  found 
"tongues  in  trees,  sermons  in  stones,  books  in  the  run- 
ning brooks  and  good  in  everything";  and  so  should 
we.  The  lesson,  which  we  here  desire  to  emphasize, 
was  sung  by  Thomas  Moore  in  the  familiar  lines: 

The  bird  let  loose  in  Eastern  skies 

When  hastening  fondly  home. 
Ne'er  stoops  to  earth  her  wing,  nor  flies 

Where  idle  warblers  roam. 

But  high  she  shoots  through  air  and  light 

Above  all  low  delay. 
Where  nothing  earthly  bounds  her  flight 

Nor  shadow  dims  her  way. 

So  grant  me,  God,  from  every  care 

And  stain  of  passion  free 
Aloft  through  virtue's  purer  air 

To  hold  my  course  to  Thee. 

No  sin  to  cloud,  no  lure  to  stay 

My  soul  as  home  she  springs, 
Thy  sunshine  on  her  joyful  way 

Thy  freedom  in  her  wings. 

In  pursuance  of  this  thought  let  me  present  five 
considerations,  suggested  by  the  home-coming  of  the 
birds  with  "  God's  sunshine  in  their  joyful  way,  his 
freedom  in  their  wings." 


BIRDS    OF    PASSAGE.  205 

I.  We  came  forth  from  God.  Can  this  be  proven  ? 
Aye;  from  the  Scripture,  which  says,  "So  God 
created  man  in  his  own  image,  in  his  own  image 
created  he  him;  and  he  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the 
breath  of  life,  and  man  became  a  living  soul."  But 
quite  aside  from  Scripture  there  is  conclusive  evi- 
dence of  his  divine  birth  in  his  own  inner  conscious- 
ness. It  is  demonstrated  by  the  fact  that  he  can  say 
**  God  " ;  that  he  can  think  God,  and  reason  about  the 
problems  that  have  their  center  and  solution  in  him; 
that  he  can  love  God  and  obey  him;  that  he  can 
defy  God  and  reject  his  overtures  of  mercy;  for  in 
this  he  is  differentiated  from  all  other  orders  of  life. 
No  better  definition  of  man  can  be  found  than  that 
given  by  Sir  William  Hamilton:  "Man  is  not  an 
organism;  he  is  an  intelligence  served  by  organs"; 
that  is,  he  is  not  a  body  possessed  of  a  soul,  but  a 
soul  making  use  of  a  body.  This  can  be  affirmed  of 
no  other  living  thing.  The  same  thought  is  elabo- 
rated in  the  words  of  Theodore  Parker:  "  The 
greatest  star  is  that  at  the  little  end  of  the  telescope, 
the  star  that  is  looking,  not  looked  after  nor  lookedat. " 

2.  We  are  a  long  way  from  ho?fie.  Sin  has  alienated 
us  from  God.  It  has  sent  us  out  into  the  far  country 
as  moral  vagabonds.  There  is  a  pathetic  response  in 
every  man  to  the  legend  of  the  Wandering  Jew.  But 
comfort  lies  in  our  assurance  that  however  a  man 
may  dim  and  distort  the  divineness  within  him  he 
never  altogether  loses  it.  I  look  into  the  water  on  a 
windy  day  and  know  that  my  image  is  there,  though, 
by  reason  of  its  rippled  surface,  I  cannot  distinguish 
it:  so  is  the  divine  image  in  man  blurred  and 
obscured    by  the   passions  engendered  by  sin.     We 


2o6  BIRDS    OF    PASSAGE. 

are  far,  far  from  God,  but  we  still  bear  the  tokens  of 
our  origin  in  him.  Nor  can  I  escape  from  his 
influence;  though  I  take  the  wings  of  the  morning 
and  fly  unto  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea,  even  there 
shall  his  hand  lead  me  and  his  right  hand  shall  hold  me. 

3.  The  ho7nmg  insti?ict  is  still  ours.  David's  pilgrim, 
on  his  way  back  from  Babylon  sings,  "  Return  unto 
thy  rest,  O  my  soul!  "  There  is  no  rest  except  in 
God.  "  We  came  forth  from  him,"  said  Augustine, 
"  and  we  are  homesick  until  we  return  to  him," 

There  is  a  legend  telling  how  Jesus,  on  his  visit 
to  Jerusalem,  at  twelve  years  of  age,  found  seven 
Rabbis,  known  as  "  The  Pillars  of  Wisdom  "  sitting  in 
the  hall Gazith discussing  the  question,  "Where  shall 
rest  be  found?  "  One  of  them  said,  "  We  find  our  rest 
in  an  abundance  of  this  world's  goods  " ;  another,  "We 
find  it  in  the  good  opinion  of  our  fellows  ";  another, 
"It  is  reserved  for  those  who  know";  another,  "Its 
secret  is  in  contentment  with  present  conditions"; 
another,  "Rest  is  in  the  enjoyment  of  simple  pleas- 
ures"; another,  "Itis  in  doing  good  as  we  have  oppor- 
tunity"; and  still  another,  "Rest  is  in  self-respect 
founded  on  conscious  virtue. "  Whereupon  the  fair- 
haired  boy  said,  "None  ever  resteth,  until  he  findeth 
God.  This  is  the  true  solutionof  the  problem  ;  and  by 
this  thought  we  are  stimulated  to  heavenward  flight. 

"  Rise,  my  soul,  and  stretch  thy  wings. 
Thy  better  portion  trace; 
Rise  from  transitory  things 
Toward  Heaven  thy  dwelling  place  ! 
Sun  and  moon  and  stars  decay, 
Time  shall  soon  this  world  remove; 
Rise,  my  soul,  and  haste  away 
To  seats  prepared  above. "^ 


BIRDS    OF    PASSAGE.  207 

4.    The  way  homeward  is  clearly  marked  out.     The 
same  God  who  provides  the  migrating  birds  with  an 
aerial  chart,  has  prepared   the  way  before  us;  as  the 
Master  said,  "If  he  so  care  for  the  fowls  of  the  air, 
shall  he  not  much  more  care   for  you,  O  ye  of  little 
faith?"     It   was    prophesied    of   old,   "An    highway 
shall  be  there,  and  a  way,  and  it  shall  be  called.  The 
way  of  holiness;  the  wayfaring  man,  though  a  fool, 
shall  not  err  therein."    Still  clearer  light  was  thrown 
upon  the  problem  of  our  destiny,  when  Jesus  said  to 
his  disciples  in  the  upper  room,  "  I  go  to  prepare  a 
place  for  you,  and  I  will  come  again  and  receive  you 
unto  myself,  that  where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be  also. 
And  whither  I  go,  ye  know;  and  the  way  ye  know." 
Thomas  saith  unto  him,  "  Lord,  we  know  not  whither 
thou  goest,  and  how  can  we  know  the  way?"     Jesus 
saith  unto  him,  "  I  am  the  way  and  the  truth  and  the 
life,   no  man  cometh  unto  the   Father  but   by  me." 
So  then  the  soul  returns  to  God,  if  ever,  by  the  way 
of  Calvary,  the  royal   way  of  the  cross.      For,  aside 
from  Christ  and  him  crucified,  "there  is  none  other 
name  under  heaven  given  among  men  whereby  we 
must  be  saved."     He  that  believeth  in  him,  and  he 
only,  hath  everlasting  life. 

5.  But  there  are  opposing  influeticesj  all  of  them 
comprehended  in  one,  to  wit,  a  free,  refractory  will.  In 
the  whole  realm  of  nature  there  is  nothing  but  man 
which  is  not  obedient  to  the  laws  of  its  own  being. 
The  lower  orders  of  life  have  instinct;  instinct  is 
bondage;  but  intelligence  is  freedom,  since  it  is  a 
spark  thrown  off  from  the  life  of  the  sovereign  God. 
Instinct  yields  an  automatic  assent  to  law,  but  reason 
may  violate  law.    The  headwinds  offer  but  a  momen- 


2o8  BIRDS     OF     PASSAGE. 

tary  hindrance  to  the  flight  of  the  returning  flocks, 
which  rise  above  them  into  the  calmer  air;  but  the 
exercise  of  our  sovereign  will  may  place  athwart  our 
homeward  path  a  moral  impossibility.  We  think 
sometimes  that  our  liberty  is  restrained  bylaw;  in 
fact,  the  law  of  our  being  is  disannulled  by  the 
exercise  of  our  liberty.  In  other  words,  we  know 
our  duty  and  we  do  it  not. 

The  bobolink  in  its  sojourn  among  the  forests  of 
the  Amazon  feels  the  breath  of  the  benignant  winds 
and  says,  "  March  has  come;  the  sun  is  shining;  the 
snow  is  melting  in  my  nest,  four  thousand  miles 
away;  my  fellows  will  all  be  there;  I  must  be  going." 
No  sooner  said  than  done;  behold,  the  birds  are  on 
the  wing! 

But  how  comes  the  Voice  to  the  prodigal  in  the 
far  country?  In  the  watches  of  the  night  he  hears 
the  sounds  of  music  and  dancing  afar  off;  shivering, 
he  draws  his  rags  about  him,  saying,  "Fool  that  I 
am,  to  linger  here!  "  and  still  he  lingers.  The  pangs 
of  hunger,  suggesting  the  abundance  in  his  father's 
house,  urge  him  to  return;  and  still  he  dwells  among 
the  husks.  He  feels  his  loneliness,  and  knows  his 
kinsfolk  are  awaiting  him  under  the  old  roof-tree; 
but  his  stubborn  will  resists  the  summons.  To- 
morrow, and  to-morrow,  and  to-morrow!  How 
slowly  impulse  rises  to  resolve!  How  long  it  takes 
a  sovereign  man  to  hear  his  Father's  call  and  say, 
"  I  will  arise  and  go!  " 

In  the  far  north,  recently,  I  came  upon  a  lonely 
mallard  in  an  ice-locked  lake;  one  that  had  been  left 
behind  while  its  companions  were  preening  their 
feathers  in  pleasant  summer  streams.    Startled  by  my 


BIRDS    OF    PASSAGE.  209 

footsteps,  it  strove  to  rise,  and  fluttered  back;  its 
wing  was  broken.  It  may  be  that  these  word's  of 
mine  shall  come  to  one  belated  thus  in  the  far  coun- 
try; some  soul  who,  again  and  again  in  the  passing 
years,  has  seen  his  friends  set  forth  upon  the 
heavenly  way,  while  he  was  left  behind.  It  may  be, 
friend,  that  the  time  of  your  flitting  has  come.' 
Blessed  be  God,  there  is  no  soul  so  crippled  by  sin 
that,  when  he  calls,  it  may  not  rise  to  answer  him. 

To  you,  belated  one,  weary  of  wandering,  comes  a 
divine  voice,  *'  Return  to  thy  rest !  "  Is  there  not  an 
answering  voice  within,  "Return  unto  thy  rest,  O 
my  soul  "?  The  homing  instinct  of  the  dove,  which 
Noah  sent  forth  to  see  if  the  waters  were  assuaged, 
brought  her  back  again  when  she  found  no  rest;  "and 
he  put  forth  his  hand  out  of  the  ark  and  drew'her  in 
unto  him."  So  the  pierced  hand  of  Jesus  is  ready  to 
be  stretched  out  to  draw  you  into  the  ark  of  safety 
and  of  peace. 

"  O  cease,  my  wandering  soul, 
On  restless  wing  to  roam; 
All  the  wide  world,  to  either  pole, 
Has  not  for  thee  a  home. 

"  Behold  the  ark  of  God, 
Behold  the  open  door  ; 
Hasten  to  gain  that  dear  abode, 
And  rove,  my  soul,  no  more  ! 

"  There  safe  thou  shalt  abide. 
There  sweet  shall  be  thy  rest, 
And  every  longing  satisfied, 
With  full  salvation  blest." 


A  WORKING  THEORY 

"  O  man,  who  art  thou  that  repliest  against  God? "    Romans  9,  20. 

On  my  way  from  Ministers'  Meeting  to  my  study, 
not  long  ago,  I  was  buttonholed  by  a  clerical  brother 
who  delivered  himself  on  this  wise:  "I  should  like 
to  consult  you  about  a  matter  which  is  engaging  the 
thought  of  a  little  company  of  conservative  liberals, 
just  now.  It  is  plain  to  see  that  the  traditional  view 
of  the  Scriptures  is  untenable;  but  we  fear  the  pen- 
dulum is  swinging  too  far  the  other  way.  We  want 
to  find,  somewhere  along  the  via  media  a  Working 
Theory  of  inspiration  on  which  all  reasonable  people 
can  unite  :  For  it  is  high  time  that  we  turn  aside 
from  controversy  and  resume  the  preaching  of  the 
unsearchable    riches    of   Christ." 

I  declined,  with  thanks,  the  kind  invitation  to  join 
this  coterie ;  but  I  did  not  blame  my  friend  for  connect- 
ing himself  with  it.  If  I  were  in  a  fleet,  sailing  in  mid- 
ocean,  on  a  starless  night,  with  every  chart  discredited 
and  every  compass  and  chronometer  thrown  into  the 
sea,  I  should  he  thankful  for  any  sort  of  dead  reckon- 
ing. But  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ,  of  which  I  desire 
to  be  a  loyal  member,  affixes  its  faith  to  divine  author- 
ity and  is,  therefore,  not  casting  about  for  "  working 
theories."      The  suggestion  of  my  friend  however, 

(210) 


A    WORKING    THEORY.  211 


was  interesting  as  an  indication  of  the  tendency  of 
our  time.  It  is  a  rationalistic  age,  a  wilful  age,  an 
irreverent  age.  Man  is  glorified;  God  is  minimized. 
We  reason  for  ourselves  as  if  we  were  superior  in 
these  premises.  But  there  is  one  who,  sooner  or 
later,  will  make  himself  heard:  "  Be  still,  and  know 
that  I  am  God!  " 

No  doubt  reason  is  a  royal  gift,  but  there  is 
something  to  be  said  for  authority.  In  our  text 
Paul  is  justifying  his  doctrine  of  the  Divine  Sover- 
eignty. Let  the  most  repellent  construction  be 
placed  upon  that  truth,  it  is  still  a  hard,  logical, 
manifest  fact  that  the  potter  may  do  what  he  will 
with  the  clay.  And,  O  man,  who  art  thou  that 
repliest  against  God?" 

The  suggestion  of  "  a  Working  Theory  "  along 
the  lines  of  theological  thought  is  not  new.  The 
children  of  Israel  on  their  departure  from  Egypt 
were  guided  by  a  pillar  of  cloud,  the  visible  symbol 
of  the  divine  Presence,  from  which  seemed  ever  to 
proceed  a  voice,  "  I  am  the  Lord  your  God  !"  A 
few  days  later  they  were  encamped  at  Sinai  ;  and 
Moses  went  up  into  the  mountain  to  receive  the  Law. 
As  time  passed  and  he  did  not  reappear,  the  people 
gathered  themselves  unto  Aaron  and  said,  "Up, 
make  us  gods  which  shall  go  before  us;  for  as  for 
this  Moses  we  wot  not  what  has  become  of  him." 
The  golden  calf  was  set  up,  accordingly,  and  the 
people  made  merry  about  it.  They  had  found  "a 
Working  Theory,"  a  god  whom  they  could  touch  with 
their  hands  and  see  with  their  eyes.  This  is  one  of 
the  ever  recurring  episodes  of  history.  The  people 
who  throng  our  streets  are  not  atheists.      Each  for 


212  A    WORKING    THEORY. 

himself  has  a  god  of  some  sort;  if  not  Jehovah,  then 
wealth,  or  pleasure  or  sordid  ambition.  If  one 
refuses  to  accept  God  as  he  has  revealed  himself  in 
his  word,  the  only  alternative  is  to  make  for  himself 
a  god  as  it  pleaseth  him.  This  is  the  clew  to  the 
giddy  maze  of  worldly  life:  "the  people  sit  down  to 
eat  and  drink  and  rise  up  to  play."  And,  all  the 
while,  from  the  great  Oracle  comes  the  voice,  "  I  am 
the  Lord  thy  God  which  brought  thee  out  of  the  land 
of  Egypt,  out  of  the  house  of  bondage;  thou  shalt 
have  no  other  gods  before  me!  " 

We  observe,  also,  in  many  quarters  a  desire  to 
formulate  "  a  Working  Theory  "  of  the  Universe.  It 
is  assumed  that  such  a  theory  is  not  afforded  in  the 
statement  of  Scripture,  "In  the  beginning  God 
created  the  heavens  and  the  earth."  We  must  some- 
how eliminate  the  supernatural  from  the  visible  order 
of  things.  Let  us  proceed,  therefore,  to  an  hypoth- 
esis: Here  is  a  primordial  germ;  no  difficulty  appears 
in  the  fact  that  the  origin  of  this  germ  is  unaccounted 
for.  It  develops  into  a  nebula,  by  the  operation  of 
an  inward  energy,  the  origin  of  which  is  also  unac- 
counted for.  The  nebula  throws  off  concentric  rings 
of  star-dust,  which  proceed  in  some  unaccountable 
manner  to  formulate  themselves  into  worlds.  In 
process  of  time  the  individual  orb  is  somehow  car- 
peted with  greensward  and  peopled  by  various  orders 
of  life.  Here  is  a  theory,  confessing  itself  to  be 
pure  hypothesis,  in  which  law,  matter,  energy,  life, 
reason  and  soul  are  all  unaccounted  for,  which  pre- 
sumes to  challenge,  on  grounds  of  reasonableness 
and  utility  the  majestic  proposition  that  in  the 
remote  past  God  sat  upon  the  circle  of  the  universe 


A    WORKING    THEORY.  213 

and  by  his  creative  fiat  called  into  being  things  that 
were  not:  "  In  the  beginning  God  created  the 
heavens  and  the  earth!  " 

It  is  not  strange,  in  view  of  this  tendency  to  cut 
loose  from  authority,  that  men  propose  a  Working 
Theory  of  Inspiration.  The  Scriptures  themselves 
lay  down  their  own  credentials  in  terms  clear  and 
unmistakable.  The  word  "inspiration"  is  its  own 
definition;  meaning  "God-breathed."  Thus  it  is 
written,  "The  prophecy  came  not  by  the  will  of 
man ;  but  holy  men  of  God  spake  as  they  were 
moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost."  But  here  is  the 
"Working  Theory":  A  company  of  fallible  men 
known  as  "redactors,"  living  at  long  intervals  dur- 
ing a  period  of  some  thousands  of  years,  determined, 
without  any  divine  supervision  or  control  worth 
mentioning,  to  get  together  a  lot  of  old  legends  and 
traditions  bearing  more  or  less  closely  on  ethics, 
theology  and  ecclesiastical  history,  and  to  edit  them 
by  selection  and  emendation  into  a  sacred  volume; 
and  this  volume,  in  its  most  recent  and  approved 
form  is  seen  in  the  grotesque  "  Polychrome  Bible. " 
The  book  thus  produced,  is  set  forth  as  a  mingled 
tissue  of  truth  and  falsehood;  so  that  the  individual 
reader  must  needs  go  to  a  syndicate  of  Biblical 
"  experts  "  to  find  out  what  particular  portionsof  it,  if 
any,  are  trustworthy.  And  this  is  heralded  as  a  Work- 
ing Theory  of  inspiration;  that  is  to  say,  a  path  of 
direction  for  immortal  souls  on  their  way  to  judgment 
desiring  "  an  infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice"! 

It  is  respectfully  submitted  that  the  traditional 
view  of  the  Scriptures  is  of  far  more  practical  value 
to  thoughtful  men.      It  has  worked  fairly  well  thus 


ai4  A  ^:?L:sry;-  tzt  7 

far:  i^   -    :-r?f   ^    ~r    —  r.  ir^^r      :    ~/  .  .:>as  of  right- 
liv      ,  :       1      -etoit.      Hrre  :s  ^  5  .r^:~:i": 

fact:    7  -  f  :-  7  :if  ; :  :  :r  ~   j^e     .1    ;  -  ;  re  :  :  :-    :     . :   t  1 


::       f    for  xcproaL  f::    ::re:.      -.  for  instmc- 

_        rosness:    :    .^:    ."r    ~iz    zz    Qzz    — ^=-7 

might  .7        :       :f  :  :  -  i:  :    f         f-  .-.re  gxeaius  of 


_         7-     —^        :      7:7  man."  he  was  still 

v^Tf  G    1      :      7-7    >:i         2    -.   zt7t    i    z.    ~y^.zr-r 
i^:  —  --:   :  7  J    ::7  ".    :   :      :     ;.z:e   it  is  £i;  -  "  7  :    :  :^: 


sx  ne 


Then   t': 


a-c^ 


A    WORKING    THXOK.Y.  215 

be  untenable,  since  obviously  no  mere  man  could  be 
honest  while  claiming  equality  with  God. 

Such  have  been  the  vain  efforts  to  improve  on 
revealed  truth ;  and  the  endeavor  to  find  a  Working 
Theory  of  the  Incarnation  still  goes  on.  la  one  of 
our  Theological  Seminaries  a  demand  has  recently 
been  made  for  ''a  restatement  of  the  Doctrine  of 
Christ. "  But  would  it  not  be  better  to  get  back  to 
the  historic  statement  which  runs  through  the  Scrip- 
tures from  beginning  to  end  ?  It  was  prophesied, 
*'A  virgin  shall  conceive  and  bear  a  son  and  shall 
call  his  name  Emmanuel;  which  being  interpreted  is, 
God  with  us."'  And  Christ  coming,  in  the  fulness  of 
time,  asserted  that  he  was  that  promised  One.  What 
could  be  plainer  than  this:  ■' Philip  saith  unto  him. 
Lord,  show  us  the  Father  and  it  sufficeth  us.  Jesus 
saith  unto  him.  Have  I  been  so  long  time  with  you, 
and  yet  hast  thou  not  known  me.  Philip  ?  He  that 
hath  seen  me.  hath  seen  the  Father;  and  how  sayest 
thou  then.  Show  us  the  Father  ?  Believest  thou  not 
that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  in  me  ? '"  Or 
what  could  be  clearer  than  the  words  addressed  to 
the  woman  of  Samaria  who  was  perplexed  concerning 
the  Christ,  ''  I  that  speak  unto  thee  am  He  "  ? 

But  of  all  doctrines,  that  of  the  Atonement  is 
most  troublesome  to  those  who  desire  to  expunge  the 
supernatural  from  accepted  forms  of  belief.  Here  the 
ground  of  offence  is  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ.  The 
plan  of  salvation  as  marked  out  by  divine  authority 
is  meaningless  and  wholly  ineffective  without  the 
blood:  as  it  is  written,  '*  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
his  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin :  "  and  again, 
*'  Without  the  shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remis- 


2l6  A    WORKING    THEORY. 

sion  of  sin."  The  first  prophecy  of  the  coming  of 
Messiah,  uttered  at  the  gateway  of  Paradise  when 
Adam  passed  out,  had  in  it  an  intimation  of  blood. 
There  was  blood  flowing  over  all  the  altars  of  the 
Old  Economy,  and  sprinkled  on  all  its  rites  and 
ceremonies. 

How  the  unbelieving  world  has  travailed  to  bring 
forth  a  doctrine  of  redemption  which  should  have 
no  blood  in  it.  There  is  the  "  Moral  Theory  ";  to 
wit,  that  Christ  came  into  the  world  to  save  souls  by 
the  power  of  a  holy  life,  showing  in  his  walk  and 
conversation  what  character  is  and  what  manhood 
ought  to  be.  And  there  is  the  "  Govermental  Theory" 
which  admits  the  power  of  the  cross,  yet  only  as  an 
expression  of  the  justice  of  the  divine  administration 
in  showing  God's  hatred  of  sin  and  love  of  holiness. 
Other  theories  have  been  advanced  to  show  that  the 
death  of  Jesus  was  a  mere  incident  in  his  life  and  had 
practically  nothing  to  do  with  any  atonement  for  sin. 

But  the  statement  of  Scripture  allows  no  room 
for  doubt  or  question ;  the  only-begotten  son  of  God 
came  into  the  world  to  die,  and  to  save  the  world  by 
dying  for  it.  He  was  delivered  for  our  offenses,  and 
raised  again  for  our  justification.  The  chastisement 
of  our  peace  was  upon  him,  and  by  his  stripes  we  are 
healed.  It  pleased  God  to  lay  upon  him  the  iniqui- 
ties of  us  all.  In  other  words,  he  took  our  place 
before  the  offended  Law,  bearing  in  his  own  person 
the  penalty  of  our  sins,  so  that  we  might  be  saved  by 
faith  in  him.  But,  so  long  as  the  world  stands,  this 
authoritative  statement  of  the  Atonement  will  not 
commend  itself  to  the  natural  heart  of  man.  It  is 
true  to-day,  as  in  Paul's  time:   "The   Jews  require 


/  A    WORKING    THEORY.  217 

a  sign,  and  the  Greeks  seek  after  wisdom;  but  we 
preach  Christ  crucified;  unto  the  Jews  a  stumbling- 
block  and  unto  the  Greeks  foolishness,  but  to  them 
that  believe,  both  Jews  and  Greeks,  Christ  the  wis- 
dom of  God  and  the  power  of  God." 

It  would  appear  that  the  Doctrine  of  Regenera- 
tion is  so  clearly  stated  by  Christ  himself  that  none 
of  his  professed  friends  and  followers  would,  for  a 
moment,  think  of  evading  it.  His  words  are, 
"Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Except  a  man  be 
born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God  ";  and 
again,  "  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water  and  of  the 
Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God." 
But  here  again,  there  are  those  who  insist  upon  the 
exercise  of  reason  as  against  authority;  though  the 
doctrine  in  question  is  avowedly  beyond  all  human 
ken.  It  is  asserted  that  the  transformation  which 
marks  the  beginning  of  the  Spiritual  life  is  in  no 
respect  mysterious,  but  wholly  normal  and  natural, 
depending  on  the  exercise  of  the  individual  will.  If 
a  man,  who  has  been  wasting  his  substance  in  riot- 
ous living,  determines  to  "turn  over  a  new  leaf," 
that  will  accomplish  the  purpose  very  well.  In  other 
words,  regeneration  is  simply  reformation,  and 
reformation  is  within  the  reach  of  any  resolute  man. 
And  of  late  another  "  Working  Theory  "  of  Regenera- 
tion has  appeared  in  a  book  called,  "  The  Psychology 
of  Religion."  This  theory,  claiming  to  be  purely 
scientific,  suggests  that  regeneration  is  one  of  the 
periodic  changes  of  human  life;  and  it  supports  this 
proposition  by  statistics,  showing  that  conversion 
occurs,  in  a  vast  majority  of  cases,  at  the  time  when 
youth   passes   over  into   maturity.      It  is  a  process, 


2l8  A    WORKING    THEORY. 

therefore,  which  "science"  does  not  hesitate  to 
account  for  on  purely  physiological  grounds.  We 
stand  reverently  in  the  presence  of  that  science  which 
ever  deals  with  facts;  but  for  the  so-called  science 
which,  with  an  hypothesis  in  one  hand  and  a  dogma 
in  the  other,  rushes  in  where  angels  fear  to  tread,  we 
have  nothing  but  contempt;  and  particularly  when 
it  arrays  itself  against  the  authority  of  the  living 
God.  The  Lord  himself  said,  that  regeneration 
involves  an  inscrutable  mystery:  "  The  wind  blow- 
eth  where  it  listeth,  and  thou  hearest  the  sound 
thereof,  but  canst  not  tell  whence  it  cometh,  and 
whither  it  goeth:  so  is  every  one  that  is  born  of  the 
Spirit."  And  who  art  thou,  O  man,  that  repliest 
against  him? 

To  complete  the  chain  of  newly-stated  and  im- 
proved truths,  it  is  proposed  now  to  elaborate  a 
Working  Theory  of  the  Kingdom.  This  is  the  key- 
stone of  the  gospel  arch.  Our  Lord  came  into  the 
world  to  set  up  a  kingdom  of  truth  and  righteous- 
ness. It  has  its  beginning  in  the  individual  soul;  as 
he  said,  "The  kingdom  of  God  is  within  you;"  and 
it  presents  itself  externally  in  the  association  of  all 
regenerated  souls,  the  Church  being  the  visible  form 
of  this  kingdom  on  earth.  The  business  of  the 
Church  is  to  gather  men  by  conversion  into  this 
kingdom;  and  this  work  must  go  on,  until  the  King- 
dom of  Christ  shall  cover  the  earth  as  the  waters 
cover  the  sea. 

It  is  insisted,  however,  that  in  this  view  of  the 
kingdom  an  undue  emphasis  is  placed  upon  the  soul 
and  eternity.  The  thing  for  practical  men  to  do  is 
to  make  this  present  world   a  better  place  to  live  in. 


A    WORKING    THEORY.  219 

Hence  Society  takes  the  place  of  the  Kingdom,  in 
the  "  Working  Theory. "  Our  business  is  to  feed  the 
hungry,  clothe  the  naked,  provide  better  conditions 
for  the  lapsed  masses,  and,  in  general  terms,  to 
accent  the  importance  of  temporal  comfort  rather 
than  of  eternal  life.  This  is  precisely  the  position 
taken  by  Confucius  in  his  Analects  when  he  says, 
"  You  ask  me  if  there  is  a  God?  I  answer,  I  know 
not,  but  I  know  there  are  men  suffering  on  every 
hand,  and  it  behooves  us  to  relieve  them.  You  ask 
me  if  there  is  a  heaven?  I  answer,  I  know  not;  but 
I  know  this  China  of  ours,  and  it  devolves  upon  us  to 
make  China  the  best  possible  place  to  live  in."  Aye, 
let  us  give  up  our  otherworldliness  and  attend  to 
conditions  here  and  now. 

At  this  point,  let  it  be  understood  that  Christ,  in 
his  religion,  is  not  oblivious  of  the  present  needs  of 
men.  It  is  written  of  him,  "  He  went  about  doing 
good";  healing  the  sick,  feeding  the  hungry,  com- 
forting the  sorrowful.  Yet  he  was  ever  insistent 
that  life  here  is  but  an  handbreadth,  while  eternity 
is  forever  and  ever;  and  that,  while  the  body  shall 
presently  return  to  the  earth  as  it  was,  the  soul  must 
live  on  through  the  interminable  aeons.  A  theory 
which  proceeds  on  any  other  basis  is  not  a  Working 
Theory  for  serious  men. 

It  is  too  late  in  the  world's  history  to  revive  the 
old  Edomite  heresy  of  trading  off  a  birthright  for  a 
mess  of  pottage.  The  world  may  assert  that  food 
and  raiment  and  comfortable  shelter  are  supremely 
important;  but,  as  Christians,  we  persist  in  our 
Master's  contention  that  "  the  life  is  more  than  food 
and    the    body    is    more    than    raiment."     Feed    the 


220  A    WORKING    THEORY. 

hungry?  Aye.  Heal  the  sick?  Aye.  But  the  cross 
is  the  ultimatum  of  the  Gospel;  and  all  things  else 
fade  into  insignificance  when  compared  with  the 
importance  of  salvation  from  sin.  The  work  of  the 
kingdom  is  to  convert  souls;  that  is,  to  bring  them 
into  harmony  with  the  purposes  of  God  in  Jesus 
Christ,  and  so  fit  them  for  the  never-ending  life. 
And  the  question  of  the  Master  rings  clear,  through 
the  ranks  of  all  who  clamor  for  something  better 
than  his  plan  for  the  restitution  of  all  things,  "  What 
shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world  and 
lose  his  soul?  " 

It  is  evident,  from  the  foregoing,  that  the  path  of 
wisdom  and  safety,  for  such  as  profess  to  be  follow- 
ers of  Christ,  leads  back  to  the  authority  of  the 
Scriptures  as  expressing  the  mind  of  God.  He 
anticipated  all  the  heresies  of  the  centuries  in  giving 
to  his  people  a  working  basis  for  every  department 
of  the  spiritual  life,  and  in  giving  it  once  for  all.  In 
the  legend  of  Daedalus  he  is  represented  as  saying  to 
his  son,  as  they  fasten  their  wings  with  wax,  "Fly 
well,  O  Icarus,  but  steer  clear  of  the  sun!"  It  is 
incumbent  on  us  always  to  use  our  reason  in  spiritual 
things,  not  however  by  way  of  invention  but  in  inter- 
pretation. It  has  pleased  God  to  give  us  wings;  let 
us  fly  well,  but  not  too  near  the  sun.  And,  however 
wise  we  may  deem  ourselves,  let  us  remember  that 
there  is  One  whose  wisdom  is  infinitely  above  ours. 
Therefore,  who  art  thou,  O  man,  that  repliest  against 
God? 

In  the  Book  of  Ecclesiastes  we  have  the  experi- 
ence of  Solomon,  who,  endowed  with  wisdom  above 
his  fellow  men,  sought   to  improve  upon  the  injunc- 


A    WORKING    THEORY.  221 

tion  which  was  given  him  at  the  beginning  of  his 
career,  '*  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of 
wisdom."  He  would  devise  for  himself  a  "  Working 
Theory  "  of  life.  Accordingly,  he  communed  with 
himself,  saying,  "  Lo,  I  am  come  to  great  estate, 
and  have  gotten  more  wisdom  than  all  that  have 
been  before  me;  I  will  apply  my  heart  to  know  and 
to  search  and  to  seek  out  the  reason  of  things." 
And  observe  the  result,  "Vanity  of  vanities,  and 
vexation  of  spirit  !  Of  making  many  books  there  is 
no  end;  and  much  study  is  a  weariness  of  the  flesh." 
Then  he  changed  his  purpose  and,  abandoning  the 
quest  of  knowledge  as  the  supreme  good,  he  deter- 
mined to  pursue  pleasure.  "  I  said  in  my  heart,  Go 
to  now,  I  will  prove  thee  with  mirth;  therefore, 
enjoy  pleasure;  and,  behold,  this  also  is  vanity!  I 
said  of  laughter.  It  is  mad,  and  of  mirth,  What  doeth 
it?  "  So  one  plan  after  another  failed,  and  he  found 
no  '*  Working  Theory  "  until  he  returned  to  the  coun- 
sel of  the  Lord.  And  in  the  closing  words  of  his 
monologue  we  make  the  practical  application  of  this 
discourse:  "Let  us  hear  the  conclusion  of  the  whole 
matter;  Fear  God  and  keep  his  commandments:  for 
this  is  the  whole  duty  of  man." 


THE   ROLL  CALL  OF  THE  MIGHTIES 

"ByFaith."— Heb.  II,  4. 

The  Eleventh  of  Hebrews  is  a  roll-call  of  the 
heroes  of  faith.  How  solemnly  they  march  along 
the  heights,  far  yonder,  like  shadows  in  the  solemn 
silence  of  the  past!  No  trumpets  blare;  no  banners 
wave.  They  died  so  long  ago  that  not  a  handful 
of  their  dust,  no  hieroglyph  on  a  tombstone,  nor 
crumbling  scrap  of  byssus  remains  to  commemorate 
them.  Yet  they  live:  they  are  the  immortals.  They 
are  the  potent  factors  in  current  history;  while  the 
living  are  but  shadows.  Lords  and  great  captains, 
secretaries  and  plenipotentiaries,  these  are  marionettes 
pulled  with  a  string.  If  you  would  find  the  real 
principalities  and  powers,  call  the  roster  of  the  dead. 
A  man  must  die  to  live.  Those  who  yonder  tread  so 
silently  the  distant  heights  are  to-day  laying  the 
foundations  of  temples  and  capitols,  formulating 
creeds  and  framing  the  symbols  of  government.  It 
was  a  great  truth  that  Longfellow  set  forth  in  his 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  Charles  Sumner: 

"So  when  a  great  man  dies, 
For  years  beyond  our  ken 
The  light  he  leaves  behind  him  lies 
!  Upon  the  paths  of  men." 

(222) 


THE    ROLL   CALL   OF    THE    MIGHTIES.  223 

But  who  are  these  in  the  Procession  of  the  Might- 
ies  ?  And  why  are  they  here  ?  Let  us  attend  to  the 
roll-call.  Abel.  What  did  he  do  ?  He  raised  an 
altar  by  the  gateway  of  Eden  and  offered  a  firstling 
of  the  flock  upon  it.  The  lamb  was  a  symbol  of  "  the 
Lamb  slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world, "  and  the 
flowing  blood  was  a  prophecy  of  the  great  tragedy 
which  was  to  be  wrought  on  Golgotha  for  the  salva- 
tion of  men.  It  was  a  wondrous  vision  that  he  saw 
"  by  faith  "  that  d^B.^.— Enoch.  What  did  Enoch  do  ? 
He  "walked  with  God";  and  as  he  walked  he 
reasoned  with  God,  as  one  friend  with  another.  He 
walked  with  his  Maker  along  the  rough  paths  and 
up  the  mountain  slopes.  Men  who  watched  him 
on  his  upward  journey  said  he  walked  alone;  and 
when  he  disappeared  they  called  him  dead:  but  he 
had  entered  heaven  at  his  Companion's  word:  "  The 
day  is  far  spent,  come  in  and  abide  with  me."  And 
he  was  not;  for  God  took  him. — Noah.  What  was 
his  mighty  deed  ?  He  built  an  ark  "to  the  saving 
of  his  house. "  He  built  it  in  fair  weather,  far  from 
the  nearest  port  of  the  sea.  And  men  passed  by,  and 
tapped  their  foreheads  and  mocked  at  him.  He 
heeded  them  not;  he  had  been  "  warned  of  things 
not  seen  as  yet."  His  faith  was  proof  against 
derision,  and  by  it  "he  condemned  the  world." — 
Abrahatnj  "the  Father  of  the  Faithful."  He  went 
out  of  Ur  of  the  Chaldees  at  the  behest  of  the  Voice. 
He  left  his  country  and  his  father's  house,  following 
upward  the  course  of  the  Great  River,  listening  ever 
for  the  Voice,  and  journeying  "by  faith"  to  a 
country  which  he  knew  not. — Jacob.  Why  is  he 
among    the    immortals  ?      Because,    when    he    was 


2  24  THE   ROLL   CALL    OF    THE    MIGHTIES. 

a-dying,  he  ''blessed  both  the  sons  of  Joseph  and  wor- 
shiped leaning  on  his  staff";  old,  blind,  decrepit,  he 
held  his  hands  crosswise,  despite  all  remonstrance; 
and  by  this  crosswise  blessing  changed  the  current  of 
history.  He  saw  aforetime  things  that  were  hidden 
from  clearer  eyes.  —  The  Parents  of  Moses.  What  is 
their  title  to  immortality  ?  They  brought  their 
infant  to  the  riverside,  and,  laying  him  in  a  basket 
there,  committed  him  "  by  faith  "  to  the  elements  and 
their  God.  Have  not  other  parents  looked  into  the 
faces  of  their  children  and  dreamed  dreams  and  seen 
visions?  Aye;  but  never  such  as  these.  By  the 
clairvoyance  of  faith  they  read  destiny  in  the  face  of 
this  "  proper  child." — Then  come  a  Horde  of  Fugitive 
Slaves,  accorded  a  place  among  the  Mighties,  because, 
with  the  footfall  of  their  foes  behind  them  and  the 
deep  waters  before  them,  they  heard  the  command, 
"Go  forward!"  and  "by  faith  "obeyed  it.— "And  the 
time  would  fail  me  to  tell  of  Gideon,  and  of  Barak, 
and  of  Samson  and  Jephthah;  of  David  also,  and 
Samuel,  and  of  the  prophets ;  who  through  faith  sub- 
dued kingdoms,  wrought  righteousness,  obtained 
promises,  stopped  the  mouths  of  lions,  quenched  the 
violence  of  fire,  escaped  the  edge  of  the  sword,  out  of 
weakness  were  made  strong,  waxed  valiant  in  fight, 
turned  to  flight  the  armies  of  the  aliens." 

And  does  the  procession  end  here?  Oh,  no.  At 
the  cross,  the  divisional  point  and  center  of  history, 
the  cavalcade  re-forms  and  completes  the  cycle, 
coming  down  to  this  day.  Let  the  roll-call  go  on. 
—  The  Apostles.  One  by  one  they  hear  the  Voice 
saying,  "Rise  up  and  follow  me;  "  and  they  follow, 
in  footprints  red  with  blood,  to  service,  death  and 


THE   ROLL   CALL    OF    THE   MIGHTIES.  225 

victory,  "  enduring,  by  faith,  as  seeing  him  who  is 
invisible." — The  Confessors.  Hiding  in  tents  and 
caves  and  catacombs,  in  conventicles  among  the 
moors,  in  fastnesses  of  the  hills;  issuing  forth  at  the 
call  of  the  roaring  lion  and  the  flashing  ax.  The 
sand  of  the  arena  drinks  their  blood.  In  presence 
of  the  mocking  multitudes  they  sing  Te  Deums. — 
The  Crusaders.  They  flock  to  the  cry,  '*  Deus  vult! '' 
they  follow  the  red-cross  banner  through  the  wilder- 
ness, in  pathways  lined  on  either  side  with  graves, 
fainting,  rallying,  singing  as  they  die,  "  Fairest 
Lord  Jesus,  O  Thou  of  God  and  man  the  Son!  " — 
The  Reformers  J  putting  their  lives  in  jeopardy  for 
the  truth's  sake,  facing  kings  and  councils  without 
a  tremor,  vindicating  their  faith  in  torture  chambers, 
going  up  to  God  in  chariots  of  fire.  —  The  Missionaries. 
"  How  beautiful  upon  the  mountains  are  the  feet  of 
them  that  bring  good  tidings,  that  publish  peace, 
that  say  unto  Zion,  Thy  God  reigneth."  They 
cross  the  seas,  penetrate  the  jungles,  climb  the 
mountains,  with  their  lives  in  their  hands.  They 
are  laid  away  in  unmarked  and  unremembered 
graves. — Is  that  all?  Nay;  "the  time  would  fail 
me  to  tell  "  of  Augustine  and  Paschal,  of  Howard 
and  Livingstone,  of  Florence  Nightingale  and 
Grace  Darling  and  Elizabeth  Frye,  of  Whitfield 
and  Spurgeon  and  Moody,  of  the  nameless  mul- 
titude who  "by  faith"  have  wrought  miracles, 
as  did  the  mighties  of  long  centuries  ago.  They 
are  of  the  Legion  of  Honor;  they  wear  the  Iron 
Cross;  their  names  are  recorded  on  the  palms  of 
God's  hands;  not  one  of  them  is  forgotten  before 
him. 


226  THE    ROLL    CALL   OF    THE    MIGHTIES. 

A  noble  army,  men  and  boys,  the  matron  and  the  maid. 
Around  the  Saviour's  throne  rejoice,  in  robes  of  white  arrayed; 
They  climbed  the  steep  ascent  to  heaven  mid  peril,  toil  and 

pain  ; 
O  God,  to  us  may  grace  be  given  to  follow  in  their  train  ! 

What  is  the  secret  of  this  moral  heroism  ?  More  than 
twenty  time  in  the  Eleventh  of  Hebrews  it  is  said 
that  these  immortals  won  their  title  "  by  faith."  But 
what  does  this  mean,  "by  faith"?  Here  is  the  defi- 
nition of  faith,  with  which  the  record  is  prefaced, 
"Faith  is  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  the 
evidence  of  things  not  seen."  Let  us  translate  that 
into  the  vernacular  of  practical  life.  Faith  is  living 
among  realities.  It  is  putting  things  at  their  right 
relative  value.  It  is  placing  the  emphasis  on  facts 
as  against  fancies,  on  realities  as  against  phantasms. 
It  is  making  room  for  God  and  giving  him  his  proper 
place  in  the  economy  of  life.  A  man  of  faith  is 
larger  than  his  shop  or  his  office;  he  is  larger  than 
his  environment;  he  refuses  to  live  within  a  world 
circumscribed  by  the  physical  senses.  He  sees 
things  that  lie  beyond  the  range  of  fleshly  eyes.  He 
touches  things  that  cannot  be  reached  by  the  finger 
tips.  To  him  things  visible  are  but  a  passing  show; 
"the  things  which  are  seen  are  temporal,  but  the 
unseen  things  are  eternal."  Gold,  pleasure,  laurel 
wreaths  are  shadows;  he  counts  them  as  naught; 
realities  are  all. 

Here  is  the  secret  of  the  triumphant  life.  The 
immortals  endure  as  seeing  him  who  is  invisible. 
They  shake  off  the  dust  of  a  world  that  dies,  and 
journey  on  to  a  better  country,  even  an  heavenly. 
They  believe  !     Take  faith  out  of  the  lives  of  those 


THE   ROLL   CALL    OF    THE   MIGHTIES.  227 

ancient  worthies  and  what  have  you  ?  They  are  no 
better  than  Nimrod  and  Belshazzar  and  Darius  and 
Meneptah;  a  procession  of  names  and  grotesque 
figures  on  marble  slabs  and  monuments.  They  lived, 
they  died !  The  roll-call  of  their  names  is  hollow  as 
the  beating  of  a  drum.     It  is 

"  The  meteor  of  a  night  of  distant  years 
That  flashed  unnoticed,  save  by  wrinkled  eld 
Musing  at  midnight  upon  prophecies, 
Who  at  her  lonely  lattice  saw  the  gleam 
Point  to  the  mist-poised  shroud — 
Then  quietly  closed  her  pale  lips 
And  locked  the  secret  up." 

Wherein  does  Moses  differ  from  Xerxes?  Both  alike 
lashed  the  sea;  but  Moses  lashed  it  in  the  name  of 
God.  Wherein  does  Rahab  differ  from  Aspasia? 
Both  were  harlots.  Aspasia  reasoned  with  philos- 
ophers; but  Rahab  trusted  in  the  divine  covenant 
and  let  down  from  her  window  the  scarlet  thread. 
Wherein  was  Samson  better  than  Hercules?  Did 
not  both  rend  the  jaws  of  lions?  Aye;  but  the  long, 
braided  locks  of  Samson  were  the  token  of  his  faith ; 
shear  those  locks,  and  he  is  weak  as  other  men. 

This  is  the  differentiating  line  which  runs  through 
all  human  life,  to  separate  the  dying  from  the  im- 
mortal. If  men,  who  are  raised  to  places  of 
authority,  rule  for  God,  they  rule  for  ever;  if  not, 
they  are  laid  away  in  the  cemeteries  of  the  pigmies. 
If  men  of  wealth  make  to  themselves  friends  of  the 
mammon  of  unrighteousness  by  using  it  as  a  solemn 
trust  for  the  welfare  of  their  fellow  men,  then  are 
they  by  faith  rich  toward  God ;  if  not,  they  die  like 
one  of  whom  a  recent   editorial  in   one  of  our  news- 


228  THE   ROLL   CALL    OF    THE   MIGHTIES. 

papers  said,  "The  frogs'  legs  that  were  served  upon 
his  table  have  as  just  a  title  to  immortality  as  he." 

How  shall  we  explain  this  power  of  faith  ? 
Wherefore  should  a  man  be  chosen  here  and  there 
from  the  common  herd  and  immortalized  ?  The 
reason  is  clear.  To  begin  with,  faith  brings  a  man  into 
touch  with  God.  There  is  no  other  way  of  approach 
to  God;  as  it  is  written,  "He  that  cometh  to  God 
must  believe  that  he  is,  and  that  he  is  a  rewarder 
of  them  that  diligently  seek  him."  To  bring  one's 
soul  into  line  with  the  divine  will  is  to  find  one's 
self,  and  to  assume  an  attitude  of  power.  I  am  a 
cipher:  but  when  I  move  up  against  the  great  Unit, 
I  am  ten,  a  hundred,  a  thousand,  if  you  will;  and 
herein  I  fulfil  the  prediction,  "  One  shall  put  ten 
thousand  to  flight."  I  recently  saw  a  tug  in  the  Bay 
drawing  six  barges  of  iron ;  the  rope  by  which  it  was 
fastened  to  them  was  powerless  in  itself,  yet  they 
could  not  move  without  it.  So  faith  couples  the 
soul  with  God;  and,  binding  us  to  Omnipotence,  it 
make  us  laborers  together  with  God. 

Then  follows  self-respect.  A  man  perceives  God 
now,  not  as  an  abstraction  but  as  Emmanuel,  "God 
with  us."  He  looks  into  the  face  of  Jesus,  reads 
there  the  story  of  pardoning  grace,  and  accepts  it. 
The  sin  that  shamed  him  is  blotted  out.  He  reads 
the  blood-atonement  as  Abel,  standing  beside  his 
primeval  altar,  read  it.  He  enters  into  "the  re- 
proach of  Christ"  as  Moses  entered  into  it.  He  sees 
the  day  of  Messiah  as  Abraham  "saw  it  and  was 
glad."  An  infinite  vista  of  possibilities  is  opened 
before  him.  He  moves  up  to  the  side  of  the  "  first- 
born  among   many  brethren,"   who    said,    "As  the 


THE    ROLL    CALL    OF     THE    MIGHTIES.  229 

Father  sent  me  so  send  I  you."  Life  has  new- 
meanings  for  him.  He  lives  no  longer  as  one  of  the 
Ephemera.  Knowing  that  he  dies  not  "as  the  beast 
dieth,"  he  measures  his  life  by  corresponding 
responsibility. 

Thus  he  necessarily  puts  a  new  emphasis  on  truth. 
For  truth  is  the  basis  of  conduct;  since  "  as  a  man 
thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he."  He  longs  to  solve 
the  mighty  problems  that  reach  out  into  the  eternal 
ceons.  "  There  are  so  many  voices  and  none  of  them 
is  without  signification  "  for  him.  He  turns  to  his 
Bible,  and  searches  it  as  for  hid  treasure.  He  sits 
at  the  feet  of  Jesus  and  learns  of  him.  He  hears  him 
teaching,  "not  as  the  Scribes  but  as  one  having 
authority";  and  he  takes  him  at  his  word.  Doubt 
is  dispelled, — the  doubt  "that  makes  us  lose  the 
good  we  oft  might  win  by  fearing  to  attempt."  With 
vanishing  doubt,  fear  takes  its  flight.  Faith  feeds  on 
faith.  Thus  he  advances  "  from  strength  to  strength" 
in  the  symmetrical  building  of  character.  He  moves 
away  from  such  timorous  phases  as  "  I  guess  "  or 
♦'I  wonder"  to  "I  know"  and  "I  believe." 

And  in  this  sacred  quest  of  truth,  duty  becomes 
supreme. 

"  So  nigh  is  grandeur  to  our  dust, 

So  near  is  God  to  man, 
When  Duty  whispers  low,  Thou  must 

The  youth  replies,  I  can." 

He  hears  his  Master  saying  "He  that  believeth  on 
me,  the  works  that  I  do  shall  he  do  also,  and  greater 
works  than  these  shall  hedo. "  As  he  looks  toward 
eternity,  the  fear  of  death  vanishes;  for  death  is  but 
the    covered   bridge,  leading    from   light    to  light. 


u 


230  THE   ROLL   CALL   OF   THE  MIGHTIES. 

through  a  brief  darkness."  And,  more  and  more, 
the  seriousness  of  life  grows  upon  this  man;  since 
life  is  the  season  given  for  preparation  for  eternity. 
To  live  for  eternity  is,  to  him,  another  way  of  saying, 
"  Live  to-day!  " 

So  faith,  in  brief,  lifts  a  man  above  his  sordid  environ- 
ment. He  is  no  longer  the  creature  of  circumstance. 
He  is  "in  the  world  but  not  of  it."  He  can  endure 
sorrow,  because  it  worketh  for  him  a  far  more  exceed- 
ing and  eternal  weight  of  glory.  He  prepares  him- 
self for  trial  by  drinking  water  out  of  the  King's  well. 
He  confronts  difficulties  as  did  the  priests,  who 
walked  around  Jericho  blowing  rams'  horns:  and 
difficulties,  like  the  walls  of  Jericho,  fall  down  fiat 
before  him.  His  conflict  with  temptation  is  like  the 
historic  battle  which  was  fought  on  Lookout  Moun- 
tain, with  the  clear  blue  of  heaven  above  and  the 
storm  clouds  far  beneath.  The  world  is  so  little 
now!  Heaven  so  fair,  eternity  so  vast!  Duty  is  so 
important,  character  so  inestimable!  God  has  been 
taken  into  the  reckoning;  and  God,  and  the  verities 
which  center  in  him,  are  all  in  all. 

This  is  the  victory  that  overcometh  the  world, 
even  your  faith.  Here  is  the  secret  of  courage,  of 
optimism  and  of  final  triumph.  If  God  be  for  us, 
who  can  be  against  us  ? 

The  line  is  clearly  drawn.  The  two  processions 
that  have  moved  down  through  the  centuries  are 
moving  on.  Here  are  those  who,  "forever  hastening 
to  the  grave,  stoop  downward  as  they  run";  with 
their  downcast  eyes  they  search  for  yellow  dust  and 
crumbling  wreaths  that  lie  along  the  earth.  Let 
them  surge  past!     You,  my  brother   in    the  faith  of 


THE    ROLL    CALL   OF    THE    MIGHTIES.  23I 

Jesus  are  the  child  of  a  King.  You  belong  with 
those  "of  whom  the  world  is  not  worthy,"  who 
"by  faith  obtain  a  good  report"  here  and  in 
heaven.  Their  eyes  are  uplifted ;  they  endure  as  see- 
ing the  invisible.  They  are  pilgrims  and  sojourners, 
looking  for  a  better  country,  even  an  heavenly,  and 
for  a  city  which  has  foundations,  whose  builder  and 
maker  is  God. 


LEFT  OUT  OF  THE  PARABLE 

"  For  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  as  a  man  travelling  into  a  far  country, 
■who  called  his  own  servants,  and  he  delivered  unto  them  his  goods."  Matt. 
25.  14- 

Of  all  the  Parables  this  comes  closest  to  the  con- 
science of  the  average  man.  It  was  delivered  by  our 
Lord  to  his  disciples  on  Tuesday  of  Passion  Week. 
The  shadow  of  the  cross  was  over  him;  yet  he  spoke 
to  them  not  of  the  Atonement  nor  of  his  approach- 
ing glorification,  but  of  the  Final  Judgment,  when 
all  must  appear  to  render  an  account  of  their  stew- 
ardship before  God. 

The  scene  is  a  Rural  Reckoning.  The  house- 
holder, returning  after  some  years  of  absence  in  a 
distant  country,  summons  his  servants  to  account 
for  the  property  which  he  had  entrusted  to  their  care. 
He  that  had  received  five  talents  reported  a  gain  of 
five  more,  for  which  he  was  duly  commended,  "  Well 
done,  good  and  faithful  servant."  He  that  had 
received  two  talents  reported  a  corresponding  gain 
and  received  like  commendation.  He  that  had 
received  one  talent,  having  gained  nothing,  restored 
the  original  trust  saying,  "  Lo,  there  thou  hast  that 
is  thine."  His  lord  replied,  ''Thou  wicked  and 
slothful  servant,  thou  oughtest  to  have  put  my 
money  to    the   exchangers  ;    then    at    my   coming  I 

(232) 


LEFT    OUT    OF    THE    PARABLE.  233 

should  have  received  mine  own  with  usury,"  adding, 
"  Take  therefore  the  talent  from  him,  and  give  it 
unto  him  that  hath  ten  talents."  The  Parable  con- 
cludes with  the  statement  of  a  general  principle; 
"For  unto  everyone  that  hath  shall  be  given,  and 
he  shall  have  abundance;  but  from  him  that  hath 
not  shall  be  taken  away  even  that  which  he  hath." 

As  to  the  justice  of  this  principle  there  may  be  a 
difference  of  opinion,  but  none  can  doubt  its  preva- 
lence. A  thrifty  and  forehanded  farmer  adds  year 
after  year  to  his  possessions;  while  his  next  neigh- 
bor, shiftless  and  indolent,  allows  his  affairs  to  go  at 
loose  ends;  his  fields  are  overgrown  with  weeds, 
debts  accumulate,  the  homestead  is  mortgaged,  then 
comes  the  foreclosure  and  the  red  flag  hangs  over  his 
door,  "Going!  going!  gone!"  Who  is  the  pur- 
chaser? The  thrifty  neighbor;  as  it  is  written,  "To 
him  that  hath  shall  be  given."  The  unused  talent 
is  taken  away;  while  he  who  is  faithful  over  a  few 
things  is  promoted  to  a  place  of  larger  influence  and 
responsibility. 

But  back  of  the  Rural  Reckoning  is  another 
scene,  projected  on  the  skies.  It  is  the  Final  Judg- 
ment. The  King  is  seated  on  his  throne,  and  the 
multitudes  are  assembled  before  him  to  render  an 
account  of  their  stewardship.  This  is  a  matter 
which  profoundly  concerns  us. 

Great  God,  what  do  I  see  and  hear  ! 
The  end  of  things  created  ; 

The  Judge  of  all  mankind  appear 
On  clouds  of  glory  seated. 

The  trumpet  sounds  ;  the  graves  restore 

The  dead  which  they  contained  before. 
Prepare,  my  soul,  to  meet  him  !" 


234  LEFT    OUT    OF    THE    PARABLE. 

It  should  be  noted  that  the  Parable  of  the  Talents 
was  not  intended  to  include  all.  It  was  addressed  by 
our  Lord  to  his  disciples;  and  its  immediate  applica- 
tion is  to  such  as  acknowledge  the  ownership  of  the 
householder  in  the  talents  committed  to  them.  The 
'*  man  who  traveled  into  a  far  country  "  divided  his 
goods  only  to  those  of  his  own  household;  but  with 
God  it  is  otherwise  :  "  He  maketh  his  sun  to  rise  on 
the  evil  and  the  good,  and  sendeth  rain  on  the  just 
and  on  the  unjust. "  He  does,  indeed,  distribute 
special  gifts  to  the  members  of  his  household  ;  but 
the  usual  blessings  of  providence  and  the  incidental 
blessings  of  grace  are  upon  all;  and  for  these,  each 
must  render  an  account  in  the  Great  Day. 

I  call  attention,  now,  to  such  as  are  left  out  of  the 
Parable;  who  have  no  place  there  because  they  leave 
God  out  of  their  lives.  It  was  a  sad  fate  that  befell  the 
"unprofitable  servant";  but  in  the  divine  economy 
there  are  multitudes  who  refuse  to  be  considered  as 
servants  at  all ;  and  a  severer  retribution  awaits  them, 
because  they  either  ignore  God  or  fight  against  him. 

The  men  in  the  Parable  were  honest  men.  Not 
even  the  trustee  of  the  one  talent  presumed  to  deny 
the  property  right  of  the  householder  or  to  appro- 
priate that  talent  to  his  own  use.  He  was  punished 
not  for  embezzlement  but  for  failure  to  improve  his 
trust.  Of  how  much  sorer  punishment,  then,  must 
they  be  deserving  who  are  left  out  of  the  Parable 
because  they  live  as  if  their  Lord  had  no  claim  what- 
ever upon  them?  If  the  unworthy  servant  shall  be 
beaten  with  few  stripes,  then,  obviously,  he  who  with- 
holds himself  altogether  from  service  shall  be  beaten 
with  many. 


LEFT  OUT  OF  THE  PARABLE.  235 

There  is  '■'■  the  Self-made  Man.*'  You  have  heard 
his  story;  "I  began  life  as  a  poor  boy;  and  what- 
ever I  am  is  due  to  myself  alone.  How  well  I 
remember  my  first  dollar,  and  the  satisfaction  with 
which  I  said,  'This  is  mine.'  By  thrift  and  industry 
I  added  to  it  from  time  to  time;  and  now,  behold 
me!  lam  the  architect  and  builder  of  my  own  for- 
tune." Observe,  he  leaves  God  wholly  out  of  the 
reckoning.  He  seems  oblivious  of  the  fact  that  the 
physical  and  mental  strength,  by  which  he  has  been 
enabled  to  accumulate,  is  heaven's  gift.  Thus  the 
King  of  Babylon  stood  upon  his  palace  roof,  survey- 
ing his  possessions.  Egypt,  Arabia,  Syria,  lay  pros- 
trate at  his  feet.  On  the  walls  of  the  royal  buildings 
were  panoramic  views  of  the  great  triumphs.  And 
his  heart  swelled  within  him  as  he  proudly  said,  "  Is 
not  this  great  Babylon  that  I  have  built,  by  the 
might  of  my  power  and  for  the  honor  of  my 
majesty?"  But  it  is  written,  "While  the  word  was 
in  his  mouth,  there  fell  a  voice  from  heaven,  '  O  king, 
thy  kingdom  is  departed  from  thee!'"  Thus  is  it 
ever  with  the  man  who  forgets  God.  The  phantom 
of  his  greatness  fades  into  nothingness.  No  man 
can  plume  himself  on  self-sufficiency.  How  shall 
such  an  one  appear  in  judgment  before  God?  Or 
whither  shall  he  go?  "To  his  own  place."  His 
pride  stripped  off,  his  possessions  dropping  from  his 
trembling  hands,  he  goes  forth  into  eternity  a  home- 
less soul.  God  was  not  in  all  his  thoughts;  there- 
fore he  cannot  be  at  home  with  God. 

And  there  is  the  Self-centered  Man.  He  has  a  hun- 
dred hands  like  Briareus;  and  they  are  all  employed 
in  grasping  for  self.     He  has  a  hundred  voices,  like 


236  LEFT  OUT  OF  THE  PARABLE. 

the  Horse  Leech's  daughters,  all  crying,  "Give 
give!"  Our  Western  ranchmen  detest  the  lawless 
fellow  who,  having  no  herd  of  his  own,  makes  it  his 
business  to  gather  in  "mavericks,"  that  is,  cattle 
without  a  brand.  He  is  the  Ishmael  of  the  plains; 
his  hand  is  against  every  man,  and  every  man's  hand 
is  against  him.  We  meet  with  his  counterpart  every- 
where; the  man  whose  only  thought  is  to  get  and 
hoard  and  use  for  himself.  He  is  a  poor  cousin  of 
Alexander  the  Great,  who  subjugated  the  world  and 
grieved  because  there  was  nothing  more  to  conquer; 
who  fell  into  a  chronic  melancholy  because  he  could 
not  make  the  ivy  grow  upon  his  palace  walls;  who 
gave  himself  up  to  revelry  and  died  in  a  drunken 
debauch.  Here  he  lies  dead,  under  his  table.  You 
may  thrust  him  aside  with  your  foot.  Whither  has 
he  gone?  To  judgment;  to  meet  the  God  for  whom 
he  made  no  place  in  his  busy  life.  And  what  shall 
he  say  for  himself  there?  What  is  there  for  any  man 
to  say,  who,  living  on  God's  bounty,  has  refused  to 
acknowledge  him? 

And  there  is  the  Infidel;  meanest  of  men.  He  not 
only  ignores  the  great  Giver,  but  makes  use  of  his 
gifts  against  him.  The  breath  in  his  nostrils  is  of 
the  bounty  of  God.  The  power  to  reason  about 
spiritual  things,  the  training  which  he  has  received 
in  a  Christian  community,  the  very  opportunity  of 
forensic  disputation,  these  are  all  from  God.  And 
he  uses  them  like  the  man  in  the  tragedy  of  ^schylus, 
who  shot  the  eagle  with  a  shaft  feathered  from  its 
own  wing.  Thomas  Paine,  Hume,  Bradlaugh, 
Robert  Ingersoll,  all  were  trained  under  the  Evangel, 
and  all  employed  their  God-given  talents  in  fighting 


LEFT    OUT    OF    THE    PARABLE.  237 

against  God,  crying,  "Let  us  break  his  bands 
asunder  and  cast  away  his  cords  from  us!  "  Voltaire, 
the  arch  infidel  of  history,  owed  not  only  his  extra- 
ordinary endowment  but  his  splendid  culture  to  the 
Gospel,  yet  his  manuscripts  were  signed  with  the 
legend  ^'- Ecrasez  I'/nfame  I"  that  is,  "Crush  the 
wretch!  "  by  whom  he  meant  the  Only-begotten  and 
Well-beloved  Son  of  God. 

I  attended  a  meeting  in  Metropolitan  Temple  in 
London,  some  years  ago,  when  Joseph  Parker 
addressed  himself  with  impressive  power  to  this 
theme :  ' '  The  Indebtedness  of  the  Unbelieving  World 
to  God  for  the  Incidental  Blessings  of  his  Gospel." 
He  multiplied  the  items  in  the  long  account  until  it 
was  made  to  appear  that  the  very  weapons  which  are 
used  by  infidels  against  the  religion  of  Christ  are 
taken  from  his  arsenal:  then,  raising  both  his  hands, 
he  cried  thrice  with  startling  effect,  "  Stop  thief!  " 
No  doubt  this  was  sensational;  but  the  proposition 
was  quite  honest  and  fair.  It  would  be  seemly  in 
those  who  array  themselves  against  religion  to  stop 
and  ask  whether  there  is  not  a  violation  of  common 
honesty  in  breathing  God's  air  and  living  on  the 
bounty  of  his  providence,  while  in  open  rebellion 
against  his  authority.  If  the  Bible  is  true,  if  there  is 
to  be  a  Final  Judgment,  if  the  servants  of  the  house- 
holder are  ultimately  to  render  an  account  to  him  for 
the  honest  and  wise  use  of  goods  entrusted  to  them, 
what  is  to  become  of  such  men  ? 

And  there  again  is  the  Social  Outlaw  :  the  man  who, 
depending  on  God's  beneficence  for  all  that  makes 
life  worth  living,  devotes  himself  to  the  injury  of  his 
fellow  men.     What  shall   be  said  of  the  rum-seller; 


238  LEFT    OUT    OF    THE   PARABLE. 

the  red-handed  offender  who  gains  his  livelihood  by 
robbing  the  honest  workmen  of  his  hard-earned 
wages  and  his  wife  and  children  of  their  food  and 
raiment;  whose  business  is  to  defy  law,  corrupt  poli- 
tics, destroy  the  peace  of  households  and  slay  the 
bodies  and  souls  of  men  ?  He  stands  in  the  doorway 
of  his  fastness,  sleek  and  smiling,  with  a  solitaire  on 
his  bosom,  saying  like  the  spider,  "  Will  you  walk  into 
my  parlor?  "  and  within  are  the  bones  of  the  foolish. 
Or  what  shall  be  said  of  the  gambler;  whose  only 
gain  is  by  others'  loss  ?  At  this  moment  there  is 
unusual  activity  in  our  police  circles  on  account  of 
the  prevalence  of  this  evil;  but  there  are  develop- 
ments in  connection  with  society  life  which  make  the 
professional  gambler  seem  but  small  game.  It  is 
reported  on  good  authority  that  gambling  of  a  most 
notorious  sort  is  carried  on  by  what  is  known  as 
"the  smart  set."  A  young  man  was  recently  invited 
to  partake  of  the  hospitality  of  one  of  our  Fifth 
Avenue  homes,  where,  in  the  course  of  the  evening, 
he  lost  a  considerable  amount  of  money  on  the 
green-baize  field.  The  next  morning  he  proposed 
to  give  his  check  to  his  hostess  for  the  amount  due; 
which  was  accepted  with  the  remark,  "You 
will  please  remain  here  until  my  butler  goes  out  and 
cashes  it." — This  is  only  a  single  case  in  point. 
Words  are  lacking  to  characterize  the  shameless 
infamy  of  women  who  thus  debase  their  womanhood 
and  outrage  the  sacred  rites  of  hospitality.  It  was 
long  ago  that  Solomon  wrote,  "At  the  window  of 
my  house  I  looked  through  my  casement  and  behold 
among  the  simple  ones  I  discerned  a  young  man 
void  of  understanding,   passing  through  the  street 


LEFT    OUT    OF    THE   PARABLE.  239 

near  her  corner;  and  he  went  the  way  to  her  house, 
in  the  twilight,  in  the  evening,  in  the  black  and  dark 
night.  So  she  caught  him  and  kissed  him,  and  with 
an  impudent  face  said  unto  him,  '  I  have  peace  offer- 
ings with  me.'  With  her  much  fair  speech  she  caused 
him  to  yield,  with  the  flattery  of  her  lips  she  forced 
him.  He  goeth  after  her  straightway,  as  an  ox 
goeth  to  the  slaughter,  or  as  a  fool  to  the  correction 
of  the  stocks;  till  a  dart  strike  through  his  vitals;  as 
a  bird  hasteneth  to  the  snare,  knowing  not  that  it  is 
for  his  life.  She  hath  cast  down  many  wounded; 
yea,  many  strong  men  have  been  slain  by  her.  Her 
house  is  the  way  to  hell,  going  down  to  the  chamber 
of  death."  To  this  sort  of  female  blandishment  I 
know  of  no  counterpart  save  in  the  harpies  of 
mythological  story ;  they  were  repulsive  creatures 
with  the  fair  faces  of  women  but  bodies  of  unclean 
and  voracious  birds,  armed  with  beak  and  claws  where- 
with to  prey  upon  the  bodies  of  men.  There  may  be 
some  among  us  who  question  the  truth  of  a  literal 
Judgment,  but  in  all  reason  I  submit  that  Providence 
is  a  hopeless  tangle  unless  there  be  a  final  reckoning 
for  such  as  these.  And  whither  shall  they  go  ?  If 
there  were  no  Hell,  one  must  be  devised  in  order  to 
satisfy  the  demands  of  equity  in  answer  to  the  cry  of 
wronged  and  outraged  souls,  "  How  long,  O  Lord, 
ere  thou  avenge  us  ? " 

And  there  is  the  Thoughtless  Man  ;  who  does  not 
wilfully  antagonize  God,  but  simply  ignores  him. 
He  is  an  honest  man,  as  the  world  goes;  that  is,  he 
robs  nobody  and  meets  his  obligations  when  due. 
He  is  a  courteous,  affable  gentleman,  it  may  be  ; 
good-natured  and  well-disposed   toward  all.      He  is 


240  LEFT    OUT    OF    THE    PARABLE, 

portrayed  in  the  Parable  of  "The  Rich  Fool,"  of 
whom  it  is  written,  "  His  ground  brought  forth  plen- 
tifully: and  he  said  within  himself,  What  shall  I 
do,  because  I  have  no  room  where  to  bestow  my 
fruits  ?  And  he  said,  This  will  I  do  :  I  will  pull 
down  my  barns  and  build  greater;  and  there  will  I 
bestow  all  my  fruits  and  my  goods.  And  I  will 
say  to  my  Soul,  Soul,  thou  hast  much  goods  laid  up 
for  many  years;  take  thine  ease,  eat,  drink  and  be 
merry."  But  at  this  point  God,  of  whom  he  had 
taken  no  account,  broke  in  upon  his  soliloquy  say- 
ing, "Thou  fool  !  this  night  thy  soul  shall  be 
required  of  thee;  then  whose  shall  those  things  be?" 
Let  it  be  noted  that  this  man  is  not  charged  with 
any  crime.  He  was  "  an  honest  gentleman."  Was 
he  ?  Can  any  man  be  regarded  as  honest  who, 
meeting  all  his  other  obligations,  appropriates  to 
personal  uses  a  trust  divinely  committed  to  him  ? 
"Will  a  man  rob  God?  Yet  ye  have  robbed  me, 
saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.  But  ye  say.  Wherein  have 
we  robbed  thee  ?  In  tithes  and  offerings. "  It  should 
be  clear  that  no  form  of  dishonesty  is  for  a  moment 
to  be  compared  with  the  heinous  sin  of  robbing  God. 
— And  is  this  man  a  gentleman  ?  Will  a  gentleman 
accept  a  favor  without  courteous  recognition  ?  Yet 
he  takes  the  gifts  of  divine  providence  and  offers  no 
return.  I  say  no  man  can  be  honest  who,  living 
to-day  on  God's  bounty,  breathing  his  air  and  eating 
his  food,  will  not  to-night  get  down  upon  his  knees 
and  gratefully  say,  "I  thank  thee." — Or,  is  he, 
really,  a  kindly  man  ?  It  is  true,  perhaps,  that  he 
would  not  for  any  consideration  wrong  his  fellow 
man  ;  yet  he   rejects  Christ,  who  came  as  the  mani- 


LEFT    OUT    OF    THE    PARABLE.  24I 

festation  of  divine  love  to  deliver  him  from  sin.  He 
treads  under  foot  the  Son  of  God,  and  counts  the 
blood  of  the  covenant,  wherewith  he  was  sanctified, 
an  unholy  thing  (Heb.  lo,  29). 

I  have  spoken  of  those  who  are  left  out  of  the 
Parable  of  the  Talents;  left  out  because  they  are  not 
servants  of  the  great  Householder  and  not  because 
they  are  to  be  in  any  wise  exempt  from  the  adjust- 
ments of  the  Judgment  Day.  Where  now  do  we 
find  ourselves?  Do  our  hearts  condemn  us?  Have 
we  taken  the  gracious  gifts  of  God  and  denied  or 
forgotten  him?  What  then  shall  we  do?  Let  us 
make  haste  to  enroll  ourselves,  by  repentance  and 
faith,  among  those  who  belong  in  the  Parable 
because  they  acknowledge  the  lordship  of  God. 

When  Doctor  Paley  was  a  student  at  the  Uni- 
versity, he  fell  in  with  bad  associates  and  gave  him- 
self up  to  dissipation.  One  morning  at  five  o'clock 
he  was  awakened  by  a  hand  on  his  shoulder,  and 
beside  him  stood  one  of  his  companions  in  the 
debauch  of  the  previous  night,  who  said,  "Paley, 
you  are  a  fool ;  you  must  turn  over  a  new  leaf.  I 
was  once  where  you  are;  but  it  is  now  too  late  to 
mend.  It  has  pleased  God  to  endow  you  with  many 
gifts,  and  you  are  wasting  them  in  riotous  living.  It 
behooves  you  to  repent  and  start  anew;  and  now's 
your  time. "  That  morning  Paley  fell  upon  his  knees 
beside  his  bed,  remorseful  and  penitent,  and  renewed 
his  vows.  If  any  of  us  have  been  going  wrong, 
putting  God  into  the  background  and  serving 
ourselves,  it  is  high  time  to  make  confession 
before  him.  We  have  been  great  sinners,  but  God 
is    a    great    forgiven       And    this    is    a   true    saying, 


242  LEFT   OUT   OF   THE   PARABLE. 

**  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  son  cleanseth  us  from 
all  sin." 

And,  having  repented  and  determined  that  hence- 
forth the  Lord  shall  have  due  recognition  in  our 
lives,  let  us  take  heed  and  beware  of  the  sin  of  the 
unfaithful  servant  who  "hid  his  talent  in  the 
ground."  It  is  not  enough  that  we  shall  ultimately 
return  to  God  what  he  gave  us;  he  claims  his  own 
"with  usury."  Both  principle  and  interest  are  his; 
and  he  demands  them.  The  only  acceptable  report 
is  this:  "  Lo  here  is  thy  gift;  it  hath  gained  some- 
what for  thee." 

Let  penitence,  therefore,  be  followed  by  con- 
secration ;  and  our  consecration  must  be  entire  and 
absolute.  The  tithe  is  not  enough,  the  superfiux  is 
not  enough;  all  that  we  have  and  all  that  we  are 
must  be  given  to  God. 

We  regard  it  as  "an  hard  saying"  when  Jesus 
demands  of  the  Young  Ruler,  "Go,  sell  all  that  thou 
hast  and  give  to  the  poor;  and  come  and  follow  me." 
It  is  a  significant  fact,  however,  that  Mr.  Carnegie, 
in  accounting  for  his  resolution  to  be  the  executor  of 
his  own  estate,  devoting  his  vast  possessions  to 
beneficence,  refers  to  this  very  saying  of  Jesus,  which 
he  rightly  interprets  to  mean,  "Put  all  that  thou 
hast  at  the  disposal  of  thy  Lord,  for  the  welfare  of 
men."  We  have  not  millions,  probably,  to  lay 
before  him ;  but  the  important  point  is  this:  what- 
ever we  have  belongs  to  him.  Our  only  right  of 
possession  is  stewardship  with  its  attendant  respon- 
sibilities. God  said  to  Moses,  "What  is  that  in  thy 
hand  ?"— "  A  rod."—"  Serve  me  with  it."  He  said 
to  David,  "What  is  that  in  thy  hand?"— "A  harp." 


LEFT  OUT  OF  THE  PARABLE.  243 

— "Come,  sing  my  praises."  He  said  to  Bezaleel, 
"What  is  that  in  thy  hand  ?  "— "  A  chisel."— "Adorn 
my  house  with  it."  He  said  to  Shamgar,  "  What  is 
that  in  thy  hand  ?  "—"An  ox-goad."—"  Up,  scourge 
my  enemies  with  it!"  Thus  whatever  we  have,  he 
demands  of  us.  When  Frances  Ridley  Havergal 
was  converted  she  found  that  her  richest  treasure 
was  a  melodious  voice  which  she  straightway  con- 
secrated to  Christ,  saying, 

"  Take  mv  voice  and  let  it  sing, 
Always — only — for  my  King." 

No  matter  what  our  possession  may  be,  wealth,  learn- 
ing, physical  or  mental  strength,  personal  charm  or 
beauty,  power  of  conversation,  the  Lord  gave  it  and 
the  Lord  would  use  it. 

"  Take  my  life,  and  let  it  be  consecrated,  Lord,  to  Thee  ; 
Take  my  hands,  and  let  them   move  at  the  impulse  of  Thy 

love  ; 
Take  my  feet,  and  let  them  be  swift  and  beautiful  for  Thee  ; 
Take  my  lips,   and  let  them  be  filled  with  messages   from 

Thee  ; 
Take  my  silver  and  my  gold,  not  a  mite  would  I  withhold  ; 
Take  my  moments  and  my  days,  let  them  flow  in  endless 

praise  ; 
Take    my   intellect,    and   use  every   power    as    Thou    shalt 

choose ; 
Take  my  heart,  it  is  Thine  own  ;  it  shall  be  Thy  royal  throne  ; 
Take  myself,  and  I  will  be  ever,  only,  all  for  Thee." 


THE  MAN  OF  BETHPHAGE 

(A  Sacramental  Meditation  on  Palm  Sunday.) 

"  And  if  any  man  say  ought  unto  you,  ye  shall  say,  The  Lord  hath  need 
of  them  ;  and  straightway  he  will  send  them."— Matt.  21  :  3. 

On  the  morning  of  the  twelfth  of  April  in  the 
year  of  the  World  4034,  year  of  the  Roman  Empire 
783,  year  of  our  Lord  30,  a  man  was  going  about  his 
usual  tasks  in  the  little  village  of  Bethphage,  just 
across  the  gorge  of  the  Cedron  and  distant  two  miles 
or  thereabouts  from  the  Holy  City.  He  was  a 
farmer,  perhaps,  or  a  handicraftsman,  engaged  with 
one  or  more  partners  in  some  sort  of  humble  traffic 
with  Jerusalem,  as  appears  from  the  fact  that  their 
beast  of  burden  was  tethered   near  by   in  the  open 

way. 

Two  men  of  the  peasant  class  approached  in 
apparent  haste,  looking  about  them.  On  seeing  the 
tethered  ass  with  her  foal,  their  anxiety  was 
apparently  relieved;  they  drew  near  and  began  to 
untie  her.  The  owner  probably  knew  these  men, 
since  for  three  years  they  had  been  attached  to  the 
service  of  Jesus,  who  had  frequently  passed  this  way. 

It  is  not  strange  that  he  resented  the  unwonted 
liberty  which  was  being  taken  with  his  property. 
"  What  would  ye?  "  he  asked.     They  replied,  "  The 

(244) 


THE   MAN    OF    BETHPHAGE.  245 

Master  hath  need  of  them,"  No  further  objection 
was  made;  and  they,  leading  the  ass  with  her  colt, 
proceeded  on  their  way. 

I  think,  however,  the  man  stood  gazing  after  them 
with  perplexity  in  his  eyes  as  they  threaded  the  path 
leading  to  Bethany.  But  presently  he  understood; 
for  around  a  spur  of  the  mountain  emerged  a  caravan 
of  pilgrims  on  their  way  to  Jerusalem,  waving  palm 
branches  and  shouting,  "  Hosanna  to  the  Son  of 
David!"  In  the  midst  rode  Jesus,  all  majesty  and 
meekness;  while  the  multitude  cast  their  garments 
in  the  way  and  palm  branches,  torn  from  the  over- 
hanging trees,  crying  with  increasing  fervor  as  they 
approached  the  city,  "Hosanna;  blessed  is  he  that 
cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord!  " 

The  man  of  Bethphage,  mentioned  only  once  and 
then  without  a  name,  here  standing,  gazing  with 
wonder  at  Prince  Shiloh  and  his  strange  cortege, 
suggests  some   helpful  truths  for  our  contemplation. 

Observe,  to  begin  with,  the  Comprehensiveness  of 
God's  Great  Plan.  The  Heidelberg  Catechism  says, 
"The  Providence  of  God  is  his  almighty  and  every- 
where present  power,  whereby,  as  it  were  by  his 
hand,  he  upholds  heaven  and  earth  and  all  creatures; 
so  that  leaf  and  grass,  rain  and  drought,  fruitful  and 
barren  years,  meat  and  drink,  health  and  sickness, 
riches  and  poverty,  yea,  all  things  come  to  us,  not  by 
chance,  but  by  his  Fatherly  hand."  The  same 
impressive  thought  is  thus  presented  in  the  West- 
minster Confession  of  Faith:  "God's  works  of 
Providence  are  his  most  holy,  wise,  and  powerful 
preserving,  and  governing  all  his  creatures  and  all 
their  actions."     In  other  words,  the  Plan  in  its  tre- 


246  THE   MAN    OF    BETHPHAGE. 

mendous  sweep  includes  all  things;  men  and  angels, 
worlds  and  atoms,  birds  and  beasts  and  creeping 
things. 

But  through  this  universal  scheme  of  Providence 
there  runs  an  undertone  of  "special  providence," 
whose  objective  point  is  the  Atonement  of  Christ  and 
the  final  ushering  in  of  the  Golden  Age. 

It  is  interesting  to  observe  the  circumstantiality 
with  which  Christ  is  set  forth  in  prophecy ;  his  miracu- 
lous birth,  the  very  time  and  place  of  its  occurrence; 
his  life  and  ministry,  the  manner  of  his  preaching,  his 
wonderful  works;  his  character  in  minutest  detail;  his 
betrayal,  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver  in  the  traitor's 
hand ;  his  trial,  scourging,  sufferings  on  the  cross ;  the 
cup  of  bitter  wine,  the  allotting  of  the  seamless  robe; 
his  death,  burial  and  resurrection  from  the  dead. 

Nor  is  this  all:  a  devout  perusal  of  the  Old 
Testament  shows  that  its  Psalms  and  Chronicles,  no 
less  than  its  prophecies;  its  ceremonial  precepts;  its 
comprehensive  cult  of  rite  and  symbol,  were  part  and 
parcel  of  the  Plan.  In  the  long  journey  from  Para- 
dise to  the  cross  all  things  seem  subsidized  to  the 
uses  of  salvation:  the  lamb  on  Abel's  altar,  the  ram 
caught  by  its  horns  in  the  thicket  on  Moriah,  the 
hecatomb  which  was  offered  by  Solomon  at  the  dedi- 
cation of  the  House  Magnifical,  the  dove  returning 
to  the  ark  with  the  olive  branch,  the  ravens  feeding 
Elijah  in  the  ravine  of  Cherith,  the  burning  bush, 
Aaron's  rod  that  budded;  in  short,  everything  along 
the  way  seems  to  be  moving  in  the  mighty  drift  of 
events  toward  the  cross. 

Our  hearts  are  enlarged  as  we  thus  reflect  on 
God,  sitting  in  the  midst  of  passing  events  like  a 


THE   MAN   OF   BETHPHAGE.  247 

weaver  at  the  loom,  casting  his  shuttle  to  and  fro  and 
weaving  in  and  out  as  warp  and  woof,  all  things 
great  and  little;  day  and  night,  war  and  peace,  pain 
and  pleasure,  men,  beasts,  and  birds  of  the  air.  And 
when  at  last  the  thread  is  cut,  to  signify  that  history 
has  reached  its  consummation,  the  Weaver  will  arise 
and  clothe  himself  with  the  finished  work  of  his 
hands;  for  history  is  but  the  weaving  of  a  garment 
for  the  King. 

We  observe,  also,  in  connection  with  this  incident 
at  Bethpage,  that  Our  Possessions  are  included  in  this 
Mighty  Plan.  The  ass'  colt  had  been  set  forth  in 
prophecy  some  hundreds  of  years  before  by  Isaiah  and 
Zechahah;  and  when  the  fulness  of  time  was  come, 
at  the  very  striking  of  the  clock,  the  Lord  drawing 
near  to  Olivet  with  the  passover  pilgrims  knew  just 
where  the  needed  beast  of  burden  was  tethered  in  the 
open  street  awaiting  him. 

There  is  deep  significance  in  the  words  of  the  two 
disciples,  "  The  Lord  hath  need  of  them."  Let  it  be 
noted  that  Jesus  was  here  laying  claim  to  his  own. 
We  are  accustomed  to  speak  of  the  Master  as  a  home- 
less and  penniless  man.  At  his  birth  he  was  laid  in 
a  borrowed  cradle;  on  his  journeys  to  and  fro  he 
was  entertained  in  the  homes  of  other  people,  as  it  is 
written,  "The  foxes  have  holes,  the  birds  of  the  air 
have  nests,  but  the  Son  of  Man  hath  not  where  to  lay 
his  head  ";  and  finally  he  was  buried  in  a  borrowed 
sepulchre.  "Borrowed?"  Nay;  the  manger  in 
Bethlehem  was  his;  the  homes  that  welcomed 
him  in  Bethany  and  Jerusalem  and  Caper- 
naum were  his;  the  new-made  grave  in  Joseph's 
Garden    was     his.       They    who    called    themselves 


248  THE    MAN    OF   BETHPHAGE. 


C( 


owners"  had  but  borrowed  from  him;  and 
their  ownership  was  mere  stewardship,  until  he 
should  claim  his  own. 

Our  so-called  possessions  are  a  trust;  we  have  no 
fee  simple  right  in  anything;  we  hold  what  we  have 
at  the  Lord's  pleasure;  and  it  is  in  the  nature  of 
robbery  to  demur  when  he  calls  for  it. 

But  how  are  we  to  understand  those  words,  "  the 
Lord  hath  need  "  ?  The  necessity  here  referred  to 
was  not  merely  that  prophecy  might  be  fulfilled,  as 
it  was  written,  "  Fear  not,  daughter  of  Zion;  behold, 
thy  King  cometh  sitting  on  an  ass'  colt  "  (Zech.  9,  9) ; 
but,  above  all,  that  the  silhouette  of  Christ  himself 
might  be  filled  out.  He  must  come  to  his  own  not 
like  Caesar  or  Alexander,  with  waving  banners  and 
trumpet's  blare,  but  as  Shiloh,  the  Prince  of  Peace. 
Rome  need  not  tremble;  here  is  no  revolt.  The 
kingdom  of  this  King  is  not  of  this  world. 

It  would  be  unspeakably  incongruous  to  think  of 
Jesus,  on  this  occasion,  approaching  the  Holy  City 
in  a  chariot  drawn  by  war  horses.  Nay;  he  would 
ride  as  the  priests  of  the  olden  time  rode,  on  white 
asses,  when  they  went  about  their  errands  of  mercy  and 
devotion. 

So  far  as  we  are  aware,  his  journeyings  were  always 
afoot.  He  had  walked  through  Galilee  with  staff  in 
hand  preaching  the  Evangel.  O,  patient,  unwearying 
Son  of  God !  But  now  that  Coronation  Day  has  come, 
he  will  ride  to  Jerusalem  as  beseems  the  Prince  of 
Peace  preparing  the  way  for  salvation.  And  the  dumb 
servant  of  the  man  of  Bethphage  was  "  needed  "  that 
Christ  might  thus  appropriately  bring  in  the  truce  of 
God. 


THE    MAN   OF    BETHPHAGE.  249 

It  is  Still  further  suggested  that  not  our  posses- 
sions only,  but  IVe  ourselves  are  included  in  the  Divine 
Plan.  Our  place  is  not  conditioned  on  the  measure 
of  our  gifts.  It  is  written  of  Naaman  the  Syrian 
that  he  was  "  a  mighty  man  of  valor  " ;  yet  he  was  no 
more  necessary  to  the  plot  of  the  drama  than  the  little 
maid  in  his  palace.  Who  was  this  man  of  Bethphage  ? 
A  mere  nameless  nobody.  His  beast  of  burden  is 
made  more  conspicuous  than  he.  And  yet,  far  back 
in  that  ancient  prophecy  and  all  along  the  Sacra  Via 
to  the  final  triumph,  there  was  a  place  for  him. 

And  his  place  was  known  by  Christ,  who  on  this 
occasion  called  him  to  occupy  it.  It  is  said  that 
Alexander  the  Great  was  able  to  call  the  roll  of  all 
the  officers  in  his  army;  but  the  Captain  of  our  Sal- 
vation knows  the  humblest  in  the  rank  and  file,  and 
assigns  places  to  all. 

The  whole  Eternal  Plan  is  present  to  his  mind;  it 
passes  ever,  as  in  panoramic  scenes,  before  him.  He 
saw  the  ass  and  her  foal  in  the  open  way ;  he  foreknew 
the  interposition  of  their  owner  and  his  subsequent 
consent;  at  no  point  did  the  incident  swerve  an  hair's 
breadth  from  his  purpose.  In  like  manner  we  are  ever 
present  to  his  mind  ;  and  the  humblest  of  Christ's  fol- 
lowers has  a  personal  relation  to  the  coming  of  his 
kingdom,  that  "far-off,  divine  event  to  which  the 
whole  creation  moves."  It  is  the  glory  of  human  life 
that  we  are  thus  called  to  work  together  with  God. 

Our  lesson,  in  fine,  is  this — and  here  lies  the  secret 
of  success  in  the  spiritual  life — we  must  hold  ourselves  and 
all  our  possessions,  ahvays,  at  our  Lord's  command.      The 
man  of  Bethphage  had  borrowed  his  beast  of  burden 
from  God.      He  was  at  liberty  to  use  it  in  the  trans- 


250  THE   MAN    OF   BETHPHAGE. 

portation  of  his  wares  and  produce  to  the  market  by 
the  city  gate  until  the  Lord  should  require  it  for 
other  uses.  The  surrender  must  be  instant  when 
the  real  owner  should  say,  "I  have  need  of  it." 
There  must  be  no  demur,  no  reluctance,  no  ques- 
tioning; the  trust  must  straightway  be  given  over  to 
Christ's  use.  All  the  things  that  we  call  ours  are  to 
be  held  in  like  manner  until  our  Lord  calls  for  them. 
No  mark  of  ownership  is  to  be  put  upon  them.  Our 
physical  strength,  gifts  and  talents,  our  wealth, 
every  penny  of  it,  must  be  kept  thus  at  his  com- 
mand; else  we  are  not  loyal  to  him. 

One  day  at  the  beginning  of  the  Thirteenth  Cen- 
tury, when  Innocent  III,  the  most  magnificent  of 
Popes,  was  walking  in  the  piazza  of  the  Lateran,  a 
man  approached  him,  clad  in  a  sackcloth  robe  and 
girt  about  the  loins  with  a  hempen  girdle.  The  Holy 
Father  repelled  him  with  a  motion  of  contempt. 
But  that  night  he  dreamed  ;  and  in  his  dream  he 
saw  the  Church  of  St.  John  Lateran  toppling  to  its 
fall  and  the  brown  figure  of  the  monk  upholding  it 
with  raised  hands.  This  was  St.  Francis  of  Assisi, 
father  of  the  Barefoot  Friars,  who  came  upon  the 
arena  of  history  at  a  time  of  spiritual  declension, 
when  the  church  was  demoralized  by  wealth  and 
luxury  and  worldliness.  He  summoned  around  him 
a  company  of  like-thinking  men  who  took  upon  them 
a  vow  of  perpetual  poverty;  their  watchword  being, 
"Nothing  is  mine."  They  went  about  in  the  garb 
of  mendicants,  calling  upon  all  men  to  repent,  de- 
nouncing the  abuses  of  authority  in  the  church  and 
proclaiming  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ.  What- 
ever our  opinion  may  be  of  the  subsequent  influence 


THE   MAN    OF    BETHPHAGE.  25 1 

of  these  Friars  when  they,  in  turn,  were  overcome  by 
greed  of  power  and  wealth,  we  must  concede  that 
the  founder  of  their  order  was  a  mighty  reformer  in 
his  time;  and  but  for  such  as  he,  who,  at  critical 
periods  in  the  history  of  a  decadent  church,  have 
renounced  the  worid  and  preached  the  gospel  of 
entire  surrender,  it  would  appear  that  the  light  of 
the  evangel  must  have  been  extinguished  among 
men.  His  sweet  spirit  of  entire  devotion  may  be 
inferred  from  the  hymn  which  he  wrote  for  use 
among  his  followers: 

Love  sets  my  heart  on  fire;  / 

Love  sets  my  heart  on  fire! 

When  thus  with  Christ  I  fought, 

Peace  made  we  after  ire; 

For  first  from  Him  was  brought 

Dear  Love's  veracious  fire; 

The  love  of  Christ  hath  wrought 

Such  strength  I  cannot  tire; 

He  dwells  in  soul  and  thought; 

Love  sets  my  heart  on  fire! " 

We   are   living    in    an  age    of   worldliness.     The 
purity  and  power  of  the  Church  are  threatened   by 
greed    of   earthly    possessions.     The    fire  of   a  false 
incense  burns  on  her  altars.     She  holds  the  world's 
exchequer  in  her  hands;  and  O,  what  possibilities  of 
conquest  are  hers,  if  only  she  were  willing  to  say  in 
sincerity,  "  Nothing  is  mine!  "     But  how  little  of  the 
vast    possessions   of    Christian    people  is  apparently 
held  at  the  command  of  their  Lord.     The  owner  of 
the   tethered  beast  is   ever  objecting  to  the   Lord's 
unloosing  it.     The  mere  tithe  of  a  tithe  is  given  at 
the  word,  "  The  Lord  hath  need  of  it."     The  great 
enterprises  of  Christ's  kingdom  are  ever  languishing 


252  THE    MAN    OF    BETHPHAGE. 

for  want  of  a  true  conception  of  stewardship.  The 
nations  that  lie  in  darkness  and  the  shadow  of  death 
await  the  Evangel  in  vain,  while  the  church  holds  her 
purse  strings  with  an  iron  grip,  saying,  "This  is 
mine;  deprive  me  not  of  it!  "  O  beloved,  nothing  is 
ours  when  Christ  calls  for  it. 

The  prevailing  sin  of  our  time  is  covetousness. 
Men  are  adding  field  to  field;  millionaires  are  envious 
of  multimillionaires;  molten  gold  is  poured  down 
the  throat  of  some  d)ang  Crassus  every  day.  Our 
youth  are  exhorted  to  carve  their  way  to  fortune  ; 
the  industrial  virtues  are  emphasized  in  "  Missions" 
and  "Settlements"  at  the  expense  of  faith,  hope 
and  charity:  while  the  Lord  who  cries  in  the  mar- 
ket-place, "  Give  me  mine  own,"  is  put  off  with  our 
paltry  superflux.  It  is  the  fashion  to  think  that  a 
man's  life  consisteth  in  the  abundance  of  things 
which  he  possesseth.  There  are  some  in  our  churches 
who  are  dying  of  an  unholy  jaundice  contracted  in 
the  worship  of  the  world's  yellow  god.  Let  the 
warning  be  thundered  in  their  ears,  "  Take  heed  and 
beware  of  all  covetousness!"  There  is  no  "my" 
or  "mine";  the  Lord  owns  all.  "  Property  is  rob- 
bery," said  Proudhon;  so  it  is,  whenever  it  is  with- 
held from  God.  To  hold  all  at  his  command  is  to 
be  "rich  toward  God."  Thus  it  is  written,  "All 
things  are  yours ;  for  ye  are  Christ's  and  Christ  is 
God's." 

We  are  not  informed  what  the  man  of  Bethphage 
did  when  he  saw  the  caravan  of  pilgrims,  with  Christ 
in  the  midst,  and  heard  them  shouting  "Hosanna!  " 
But  I  love  to  think  that  he  hastened  down  the  path, 
across  the  Cedron,  up  the  slopes  of  Olivet,  and  fell 


THE    MAN   OF    BETHPAGE.  253 

Into  line  with  the  procession,  adding  his  voice  to  the 
cry,  "Blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord !  " 

Thus  let  us  find  our  places  in  the  retinue  of  the 
King,  honoring  his  requisition  of  both  ourselves  and 
our  possessions,  and  giving  ourselves  up  with  aban- 
don to  the  enthusiasm  of  his  advent.  Our  Master's 
call  is  in  these  words:  "  If  any  man  will  come  after 
me,  let  him  deny  himself,  take  up  his  cross  and 
follow  me";  and  again,  '*If  thou  woulds't  enter  into 
life,  Go,  sell  all  that  thou  hast  and  come  and  follow 
me. 


PAUL'S  GOODS  AND  CHATTELS 

"  The  cloak  that  I  left  at  Troas  with  Carpus  bring  with  thee,  when  thou 
comest,  and  the  books,  but  especially  the  parchments."— 2  Timothy  4,  13. 

An  old  man  in  the  Mamertine  Jail:  it  is  a 
noisome  place,  dank  and  mouldy.  He  shivers  with 
the  cold;  a  sense  of  loneliness  overwhelms  him.  We 
have  seen  this  man  before;  small  of  stature,  with 
stooping  shoulders;  it  is  Paul,  whom  Renan  calls 
"the  ugly  little  Jew."  His  bodily  presence  indeed 
is  mean;  but  his  intellect  is  "bright  as  an  electric 
spark  shot  off  from  the  finger  of  God." 

He  is  writing  to  his  friend  Timothy,  the  young 
pastor  of  the  Ephesian  Church,  his  spiritual  son.  It 
is  slow  work;  his  eyes  are  dim,  and  the  light  is  poor; 
and  his  fingers  are  cramped  with  age  and  "oft 
infirmities."  Let  us  follow  his  trembling  stylus: 
"  Do — thy — diligence — to  come — shortly — unto  me." 
Lonely  soul!  It  is  little  wonder  that  he  longs  for  a 
friend,  with  the  shadows  closing  about  him.  He  con- 
tinues, "Bring  with  thee  the  cloak  that  I  left  at  Troas, 
and  the  books,   but  especially  the  parchments." 

There  is  pathos  in  this  brief  inventory  of  his  pos- 
sessions. Time  was  when  he  had  abundance  of  this 
world's  goods.  He  was  the  son  of  a  Roman  citizen; 
educated  in  the  aristocratic  school  of  Gamaliel  at  Jeru- 
salem; chosen  to  a  seat  in  the  Sanhedrin  or  Supreme 

(254) 


Paul's  goods  and  chattels.  255 

Court  of  Israel,  with  a  bright  future  before  him. 
But  at  his  conversion  he  surrendered  all,  his  words 
being  "  I  count  all  things  but  loss  for  the  excellency 
of  the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord."  And 
here  we  have  the  pitiful  residue  j  a  cloak,  some  books 
and  parchments.  But  though  reduced  to  poverty, 
he  makes  no  complaint.  Nay,  rather  his  want  seems 
treasure.  "Reduced  to  poverty"?  He  counts 
himself  rich  toward  God. 

Nor  is  this  inventory  so  paltry  as  it  seems.  Here 
is  a  cloak  for  the  body;  books  for  the  delectation  of 
the  mind  ;  and  parchments  for  the  uses  of  the  immor- 
tal soul.  Thus  the  brief  total  of  his  possessions 
covers  the  entire  necessity  of  the  tripartite  man, 

I.  The  Lesson  of  the  Cloak.  It  is  suggested  that 
this  was  a  "vestment,"  or  ministerial  gown.  But 
that  is  the  last  thing  which  Paul  the  prisoner  would 
have  desired.  The  tentmakers  and  fishermen  of  the 
early  church  were  content  to  preach  in  homespun, 
leaving  silken  gowns  for  us.  No,  the  "cloak"  was  a 
garment  for  warmth,  doubly  needed  because  the 
winter  was  drawing  on.  It  had  been  "left  at  Troas"; 
probably  when  he  departed  from  that  city  to  answer 
the  call  of  the  Man  of  Macedonia,  whom  he  had  seen 
in  a  vision  beckoning  and  calling,  "Come  over  and 
help  us!"  He  had  gone  in  haste,  without  luggage; 
leaving  cloak,  books  and  parchments  in  the  care  of 
Carpus,  to  be  called  for. 

The  request  for  the  cloak  shows  us  that  Paul, 
notwithstanding  his  great  learning  and  piety,  was 
but  a  common  man.  We  stand  in  awe  of  him  walk- 
ing along  the  heights  of  transcendental  theology  and 
sublimated   devotion;   we   wish    sometimes   that   he 


256  Paul's  goods  and  chattels. 

would  descend  to  our  level;  and  here  he  does  it. 
He  had  just  been  saying  "  I  am  ready  to  be  offered, 
and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand.  I  have 
fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have 
kept  the  faith.  Henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a 
crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the  right- 
eous Judge,  will  give  me  at  that  day."  How  far 
above  the  spirit  of  the  average  man  !  But  just  then 
the  chill  of  the  dungeon  strikes  to  the  marrow  of  his 
bones;  he  shivers — and  comes  down:  "Bring  the 
cloak  with  you." 

If  Paul  had  been  a  Christian  Scientist  he  would 
not  have  troubled  himself  about  the  cloak.  He 
would  have  rubbed  his  blue  fingers  together  as  he 
shivered,  saying,  "Nonsense;  this  isn't  a  chill;  it's 
only  a  belief.  Cloaks  and  mufflers  ?  O  no,  thank 
you.  I'm  not  cold."  But  Paul  was  no  fool.  He 
knew  better  than  to  give  the  palpable  lie  to  his  senses ; 
therefore  he   wrote,  "  Bring  the  cloak  with  you." 

It  shows,  also,  that  Paul  was  not  without  senti- 
ment. The  old  cloak  had  been  his  companion  amid 
the  vicissitudes  of  his  missionary  life.  It  was  shiny 
at  the  seams,  perhaps,  and  worn  along  the  edges. 
It  had  been  wet  with  dews  that  fell  upon  him  asleep 
among  the  mountains  of  Macedonia,  stained  by  the 
sea  in  his  three  shipwrecks,  soiled  with  the  dust  of 
the  Roman  roads  over  which  he  had  wearily  trudged. 
It  was  a  warm,  honest  cloak  ;  which  had  sheltered 
him  in  wintry  storms;  the  very  cloak,  perhaps, 
which  he  had  drawn  about  his  bruised  body  when  he 
came  to  life,  after  the  shower  of  stones,  outside  the 
gates  of  Lystra.  A  garment  which  has  shared  our 
sorrows  thus,  adjusting  itself  to  our  physical  angu- 


PAULS  GOODS  AND  CHATTELS.  257 

larities,  makes  a  friendly  place  for  itself,  and — call  it 
sentiment,  if  you  will — it  is  never  quite  like  other 
garments  to  us. 

But,  above  all,  this  request  indicates  that  Paul 
was  a  man  of  common  sense,  in  that  he  was  disposed 
to  give  due  attention  to  his  physical  needs.  His 
was  a  poor,  homely,  pain-racked  body;  but  being  the 
best  he  had  for  use  in  his  Lord's  service,  he  desired 
to  take  good  care  of  it.  He  repeatedly  speaks  of  the 
body  as  the  temple  of  the  Lord  :  witness  the  indig- 
nant protest  addressed  to  the  Corinthians  on  account 
of  their  physical  excesses:  "What!  Know  ye  not 
that  your  body  is  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
which  is  in  you,  which  ye  have  of  God?  And  ye 
are  not  your  own,  for  ye  are  bought  with  a  price; 
therefore  glorify  God  in  your  body  and  your  spirit 
which  are  God's." 

The  redemptive  work  of  Jesus  was  for  the  deliv- 
erance of  the  whole  man.  The  body  as  well  as  the 
soul  is  sprinkled  with  his  blood,  and  is  included  in 
the  apocalyptic  glory;  as  it  is  written,  "He  shall 
change  our  vile  body  that  it  maybe  fashioned  like 
unto  his  glorious  body,  according  to  the  working 
whereby  he  is  able  even  to  subdue  all  things  unto 
himself."  Wherefore  it  behooves  us  to  look  to  its 
welfare  (Phil.  3,  21).  The  body,  as  belonging  to 
Christ,  should  be  sheltered  from  storm,  exercised  by 
day  and  rested  by  night,  provided  with  wholesome 
food,  never  poisoned  with  alcoholic  or  other  noxious 
draughts,  and  every  way  kept  in  condition  as  a  suit- 
able vehicle  for  the  operations  of  the  Spirit  of  God. 
This  is  the  Gospel  as  well  as  the  Law.  "  I  beseech 
you,  brethren,  by  the   mercies  of  God,  that  ye  pre- 


258  Paul's  goods  and  chattels. 

sent  your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  acceptable 
unto  God,  which  is  your  reasonable  service"  (Ro- 
mans 12,  i). 

//.  The  Lesson  of  the  Books.  We  may  venture  a 
conjecture  as  to  this  bundle  of  books;  a  copy  or  two 
of  Greek  philosophy;  Logic  and  Rhetoric;  rabbin- 
ical writings;  the  Poems  of  Aratus,  from  whom  Paul 
quoted  in  his  famous  sermon  on  Mar's  Hill;  and 
probably  a  few  text-books  left  over  from  his  Univer- 
sity life. 

In  Dr.  Channing's  Essay  on  Self-Culture  he  en- 
larges on  Paul's  affection  for  his  books,  "  God  be 
thanked  for  them!  They  are  the  voices  of  the  dis- 
tant and  the  dead,  and  make  us  heirs  of  the  spiritual 
life  of  past  ages.  Books  are  the  true  levellers.  They 
give  to  all  who  will  faithfully  use  them  the  society, 
the  spiritual  presence,  of  the  best  and  greatest  of 
our  race.  No  matter  how  poor  I  am,  no  matter 
though  the  prosperous  of  my  own  time  will  not  enter 
my  obscure  dwelling.  If  the  sacred  writers  will 
enter  and  take  up  their  abode  under  my  roof,  if 
Milton  will  cross  my  threshold  to  sing  to  me  of 
Paradise,  and  Shakespeare  to  open  to  me  the  worlds 
of  imagination  and  the  workings  of  the  human  heart, 
and  Franklin  to  enrich  me  with  his  practical  wisdom, 
I  shall  not  pine  for  want  of  intellectual  companion- 
ship; and  I  may  become  a  cultivated  man  though 
excluded  from  what  is  called  the  best  society  in  the 
place  where  I  live." 

In  the  sum  total  of  life  more  depends  on  the 
quality  of  our  reading  than  we  think.  Books  are 
the  pabulum  of  the  mind.  They  furnish  the  fibre  of 
national  character.     At   the  close  of  the  eighteenth 


„  Paul's  goods  and  chattels.  259 

century  all  France  was  shaken  to  its  very  center  by 
the  translation  of  Chambers'  Encyclopedia,  with 
infidel  interpretations  by  Diderot,  and  others  of 
similar  views.  A  tidal  wave  of  unbelief  was  set  in 
motion  which  has  left  its  disastrous  traces  to  this 
day. 

At  the  close  of  the  Franco-Prussian  war  it  was 
asserted  by  Pere  Hiacinthe  that,  in  his  judgment, 
the  defeat  of  the  French  army  was  a  foregone  con- 
clusion, because  it  went  forth  enfeebled  by  a  century 
of  infidel  teaching  to  meet  a  body  of  soldiers,  every 
one  of  whom  carried  a  Bible  in  his  knapsack. 

The  social  life  of  any  community  may  be  deter- 
mined by  its  literature.  The  heart  of  London  was 
stirred  to  its  depths  by  the  wrongs  of  seamstresses  as 
sung  by  Thomas  Hood: 

"  Stitch,  stitch,  stitch  ! 
With  fingers  weary  and  worn. 

With  eyelids  heavy  and  red, 
A  woman  sat  in  unwomanly  rags, 

Plying  her  needle  and  thread. 

"  Stitch,  stitch,  stitch  ! 
O  men  with  sisters  dear, 

O  men  with  mothers  and  wives  ; 
It  is  not  linen  you're  wearing  out, 

But  human  creatures'  lives." 

The  same  holds  true  of  individual  life.  Washing- 
ton Irving  read  Sinbad  the  Sailor  by  the  glimmer  of 
a  stolen  candle  and  meanwhile  practised  sleeping  on 
an  oaken  floor  and  accustomed  himself  to  salt  pork, 
which  he  hated,  in  preparation  for  running  away  to  sea. 

John  Angell  James  says  his  whole  life  was  cor- 
rupted by  a  pamphlet  which    he    found  on  a  book 


26o  Paul's  goods  and  chattels. 

stand  and  examined  but  fifteen  minutes  as  he  was 
passing  by. 

As  a  man  readeth,  so  is  he.  Tell  me  your  morning 
newspaper  and  I  will  divine  your  intellectual  bias. 
Introduce  me  to  your  libraries  and  I  will  undertake 
a  more  accurate  diagnosis  of  your  general  character. 

It  is  commonly  supposed  that  the  reading  habit  is 
a  good  thing;  but  that  depends.  It  is  like  the  eat- 
ing habit,  which  is  either  good  or  bad  according  to 
one's  bill  of  fare.  Lord  Bacon  said  "  Reading  mak- 
eth  a  full  man."  If  so,  the  need  of  discrimination  is 
obvious ;  since  mere  "  fulness  "  is  likely  to  induce  dys- 
pepsia. Nor  is  it  always  true  that  "knowledge  is 
power";  the  knowledge  of  evil  is  pure  weakness.  A 
wise  humorist  has  recently  said,  "It  is  better  to  know 
a  few  things  that  are  so,  than  a  great  many  things  that 
are  not  so."  It  may  be  set  forth  as  a  kindred  truth 
that  a  few  wholesome  books,  well  read  and  digested, 
are  better  than  whole  libraries  of  indifferent  or  per- 
nicious literature.  In  these  days  when  bound  vol- 
umes are  turned  out  by  machinery  at  the  cost  of  a 
few  pennies,  it  is  obviously  the  part  of  wisdom  to 
select  with  care.  Prove  all  books:  hold  fast  that 
which  is  good. 

III.  The  Lesson  of  the  Parchnetits.  These  were, 
probably,  scrolls  of  Scripture;  the  Law  and  the 
Prophets,  with  copies  of  the  recently  written  Gospels 
which  were  at  this  time  being  circulated  among  the 
Church.  It  is  this  sort  of  literature  which  nourishes 
and  enriches  the  soul.  Wherefore  Paul,  in  his  mes- 
sage to  Timothy,  emphasizes  their  importance,  say- 
ing "  Bring  with  thee  cloak  and  the  books,  but 
especially  the  par chmetits.''     For  what  shall  it  profit  a 


Paul's  goods  and  chattels.  261 

man  to  care  for  his  body  and  nourish  his  mind  if  his 
immortal  soul  be  left  to  languish  and  die  ? 

There  are  some  things  in  the  Scriptures,  of 
supreme  spiritual  value,  which  can  be  found  nowhere 
else.  "  There's  wit  there,  ye'U  get  there,  ye'll  find 
nae  ither  where." 

First,  there  is  the  Plan  of  Salvation  from  sin. 
The  sacred  books  of  the  false  religions  have  much  to 
say  about  personal  and  social  duty,  but  in  none  of 
them  can  be  found  an  answer  to  the  question, 
*'  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved?  "  Saved,  that  is,  from 
the  consequences  which,  under  the  Law,  are  bound 
to  follow  sin.  The  Scriptures  present  the  atonement 
of  Christ,  on  condition  of  faith,  as  an  open  door  into 
spiritual  and  eternal  life. 

Second,  there  is  the  divine  Rule  of  Character. 
The  man  who  is  washed  in  the  blood  of  Jesus  is 
directed  to  the  Law  as  set  forth  in  the  Decalogue 
and  in  the  "  Sermon  on  the  Mount,"  which  is  Christ's 
exposition  of  it:  in  addition  to  which,  Christ  himself 
is  presented  as  the  living  exemplar  of  righteousness. 
By  following  in  his  steps  he  fulfills  the  Law  and 
develops  character,  growing  unto  the  full  stature  of 
a  man  (Romans  8  :  1-4). 

Third,  there  is  Direction  for  Service  in  the  King- 
dom of  God.  It  is  this  which  makes  life  tell.  The 
salvation  which  was  purchased  by  Christ  is  more 
than  deliverance  from  hell,  more  than  character- 
building;  it  is  usefulness,  above  all.  And  no  man 
lives  a  useful  life  who  does  not  invest  his  energies, 
beyond  all  things  that  perish  with  the  using,  for  the 
divine  glory  in  the  setting  up  of  an  Earthly  Kingdom 
of  truth  and  righteousness. 


262  PAUL  S    GOODS   AND    CHATTELS. 

It  thus  appears  that  Paul  was  right  in  desiring 
'"^especially"  the  parchments.  He  could  dispense 
with  the  cloak,  if  need  be,  however  he  might  shiver 
without  it.  Nor  were  the  books  of  vital  importance; 
though  they  would  relieve  the  painful  monotony  of 
his  prison  life.  But  the  parchments  he  must  have; 
and  so  must  we.  The  Bible  is  our  sine  qua  non, 
because  it  ministers  to  the  needs  of  the  immortal  man. 

This  is  the  field  where  hidden  lies 

The  pearl  of  price  unknown: 
The  merchant  is  divinely  wise 

Who  makes  that  pearl  his  own. 

The  Bible  is  the  book  for  youth,  when,  "  life  goes 
a-Maying  with  nature,  hope  and  poesy."  It  is  the 
book  for  middle  age;  when  the  cares  of  this  world 
and  the  deceitfulness  of  riches  spread  their  snares 
before  us.  It  is  the  book  for  the  aged,  who  losing 
their  hold  on  time  gaze,  dim-eyed,  toward  the  mys- 
teries of  the  world  beyond.  It  is,  above  all,  the 
book  for  the  dying  hour.  Ah,  there's  no  book  like 
the  Bible  then !  Read  me  now  the  Twenty-third 
Psalm,  "For  thou  art  with  me;  thy  rod  and 
thy  staff  they  comfort  me."  Read  me  now  the 
Eighth  of  Romans,  "There  is  therefore  no  more 
condemnation  to  them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus." 
Read  me  the  Fourteenth  of  John,  "  In  my  Father's 
house  are  many  mansions ;  I  go  to  prepare  a  place 
for  you."  Read  me,  now  when  my  eyes  are  filming, 
the  Vision  of  the  Heavenly  City,  "  And  there  shall 
be  no  night  there;  and  they  need  no  candle,  neither 
light  of  the  sun;  for  the  Lord  Godgiveth  them  light, 
and  they  shall  reign  for  ever  and  ever." 


Paul's  goods  and  chattels.  263 

Thus  it  appears  that  Paul's  inventory  of  worldly 
goods  was  not  so  paltry  as  the  casual  reader  would 
suppose.  The  cloak  had  its  value,  and  the  books 
also,  "but  especially  the  parchments."  The  parch- 
ments are  indispensible :  for  they  cover  the  nakedness 
and  feed  the  hunger  of  the  soul.  Wherefore,  as  we 
care  for  our  eternal  destiny,  let  us  be  loyal  to  the 
Scriptures,  searching  them  as  for  hid  treasure, 
heeding  their  admonitions,  loving  their  exceeding 
great  and  precious  promises,  finding  in  them  the 
riches  of  divine  grace.  Let  us  take  them  as  a  lamp 
unto  our  feet  and  a  light  unto  our  path,  guiding  us 
till  death — and  beyond  it. 


RELIGION  BY  INHERITANCE 

Behold  the  pattern  of  the  altar  of  the  Lord  which  our  fathers  made. 
Joshua  22,  28. 

The  war  of  conquest  was  over  and  the  tribes  were 
in  undisturbed  possession  of  the  Promised  Land.  It 
was  an  unspeakable  delight,  after  years  of  bondage 
and  wandering  in  the  wilderness,  to  turn  to  the  usual 
occupations  of  peace,  and  rest  each  under  his  own 
vine  and  fig-tree. 

But  presently  an  incident  occurred  which  threat- 
ened the  unity  of  the  young  commonwealth.  It  was 
rumored  that  a  great  altar  was  being  erected  by  the 
trans-Jordanic  tribes  to  rival  the  brazen  altar  of  the 
Tabernacle.  The  suspicion  was  confirmed  by  those 
dwelling  to  the  North,  who  saw  the  structure  rising, 
stone  upon  stone,  "a  great  altar  to  see."  An  out- 
burst of  indignation  followed ;  there  was  a  blowing 
of  rams'  horns  and  a  rallying  for  war.  But  wiser 
counsels  prevailed.  A  commission  of  inquiry  was 
appointed,  consisting  of  Phineas  and  ten  princes  of 
the  tribes,  who  met  their  offending  brethren  in 
Gilead,  and  presented  their  protest:  "  What  trespass 
is  this  that  ye  have  committed  against  the  God  of 
our  fathers?  "  The  answer  was  a  complete  vindica- 
tion, to  this  effect:  that  the  altar  had  been  reared  not 

(264) 


RELIGION    BY    INHERITANCE.  265 

for  the  offering   of  oblations  or  sacrifices  but  as  a 
witness  and  memorial  of  the  faithfulness  of  God  to 
their   fathers  and  of  their  fathers'  devotion  to  him. 
It  meant  no  new  departure;  but,  on  the  contrary,  as 
a  faithful  copy  and   facsimile  of  the  brazen  altar  at 
Shiloh,  it  was  designed  to  maintain  the  integrity  of 
the  ancestral  faith  and  cement  the  unity  of  the  sepa- 
rated   tribes.      "God   forbid,"  they  said,    "  tliat  we 
should  rebel  against  Jehovah.      Behold,  the  pattern 
of  the  altar  of  the  Lord  which  our  fathers  made! " 

The  explanation  was  satisfactory.     A  soft  answer 
turneth  away  wrath.     The  deputation  returned  with 
a  report  that  there  was  no  ground  for  offense.     And 
the  altar  on  the  heights  was  thenceforth   called  Ed, 
meaning  "testimony";    because,   as  they  said,    "It 
shall  be  a  witness  between  us  that  the  Lord  is  God." 
We    find    here   a    suggestion  of    Traditionalism  in 
Religion.     The  fact  of  Heredity  is  constantly  empha- 
sized in  recent  science;  but  not  more  so  than  in  Holy 
Writ.     The  physical  characteristics  of  the  fathers  are 
passed  on  to  the  generations  after  them.     The  same 
is    true  of    intellectual    power   or  weakness.      Poets, 
orators,  warriors  and  statesmen,  as  a  rule,  have  sons 
and  daughters  "  after  their  kind." 

Now  that  the  smoke  of  our  Civil  War  has  cleared 
away,  it  is  quite  safe  to  assign  to  Stonewall  Jackson 
a  place  in  the  roll-call  of  our  mighties.  If  we  would 
know  the  secret  of  his  moral  greatness  we  must  go 
back  to  1748,  when  Elizabeth  Cummins,  a  young 
Saxon,  six  feet  in  stature,  stalwart  and  beautiful, 
took  passage  for  America.  John  Jackson,  a  Scotch- 
Irishman  of  heroic  mold,  was  a  fellow  passenger. 
These  two,  on  the  ocean,  plighted   their  troth.     And 


266  RELIGION    BY    INHERITANCE. 

they  were  the  forebears  of  Stonewall  Jackson;  in 
whom  were  thus  combined  the  historic  virtues  of 
Puritan  and  Covenanter.  Was  it  strange  that  he, 
true  to  the  altar  of  his  fathers,  should  have  distin- 
guished himself  not  only  on  the  high  places  of  the 
field  but  in  the  maintenance  of  his  Christian  faith? 

But  attention  is  called  to  the  fact  that  vices  as 
well  as  virtues  are  transmitted  to  succeeding  genera- 
tions. The  old  fashion  was  to  call  this  "original 
sin  ";  but,  under  whatever  name,  the  doctrine  is  now 
universally  recognized  as  a  scientific  fact. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  find  that  creeds  and 
moral  codes  pay  deference  to  the  past.  Hence  the 
current  outcry  against  "traditionalism."  In  one  of 
the  camp-meeting  Songs  of  the  South  the  refrain 
occurs,  "  Baptis'  born,  Baptis'  bred,  Baptis'  till  I 
die."  The  important  question  is,  How  far  are  we 
justified  in  building  our  altars  thus,  after  the  pattern 
of  the  fathers? 

Let  us  at  the  outset  lay  down  this  proposition: 
It  is  nothing  against  a  doctrine  or  precept  that  our  ancestors 
approved  it.  It  is  important  to  say  this,  because  in 
some  quarters  there  is  an  illogical  and  unaccountable 
prejudice  against  the  past.  There  are  many,  now- 
adays, who,  like  the  Athenians,  "spend  their  time  in 
nothing  else  but  either  to  hear  or  to  tell  some  new 
thing."  They  are  ready  to  displace  the  personal 
God  by  Law  or  Energy  or  any  other  recently  dis- 
covered fetish.  They  push  aside  the  Bible  to  make 
way  for  guesses  and  hypotheses.  They  treat  the 
miracles  of  Revelation  as  incredible;  but  yield  cheer- 
ful assent  to  miracles  wrought  upon  corner-stones 
and   rubber-plants.     Everything  is   acceptable  save 


RELIGION    BY    INHERITANCE.  267 

that  on  which  antiquity  has  placed  its   seal.      Ring 
out  the  old,  ring  in  the  new! 

But  why  should  a  truth  be  discredited  on  the 
ground  that  our  fathers  believed  it  ?  Is  the  air  any 
less  necessary  to  life  because  the  passing  generations 
have  in  no  wise  improved  upon  it  ?  Is  spring  water 
any  the  worse  because  the  people  of  the  old  time 
drank  it?  Or,  shall  we  reject  the  sunlight  because 
our  forebears  basked  in  it  ? 

A  step  further:  The  fact  that  a  truth  has  been 
accepted  from  time  immemorial  creates  an  antecedent  pre- 
sumption in  its  favor.  It  is  a  well-known  and  univer- 
sally accepted  principle  in  logic,  that  the  presump- 
tion is  always  in  favor  of  the  statu  quo.  A  physician 
who  refuses  to  recognize  this  in  the  practice  of  thera- 
peutics would  be  discredited  forthwith.  In  Courts 
of  Law  a  precedent  holds  until  sufficient  reason  can 
be  shown  for  new  procedure.  In  religion  no  excep- 
tion can  be  taken  to  the  general  rule.  A  man 
brought  up  as  a  Baptist,  a  Presbyterian,  a  Roman 
Catholic,  may  not  rationally  repudiate  his  ancestral 
faith  until  a  just  reason  can  be  given  for  doing  so. 
Nay,  further,  the  son  of  infidel  parents  is  bound  by 
filial  loyalty  to  abide  in  his  inheritance  until  the  bond 
is  broken  by  a  higher  law. 

One  of  the  evil  tendencies  of  our  times  is  toward 
the  disregard  of  the  divine  precept:  "Honor  thy 
father  and  thy  mother,  that  thy  days  may  be  long 
upon  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee." 
The  sin  of  Absalom  has  been  revived.  In  Paul's 
second  letter  to  Timothy  he  enjoins  him  thus :  "Con- 
tinue thou  in  the  things  which  thou  hast  learned  and 
hast  been  assured  of,  knowing  of  whom  thou  hast 


268  RELIGION    BY    INHERITANCE. 

learned  them ;  and  that  from  a  child  thou  hast  known 
the  holy  Scriptures,  which  are  able  to  make  thee 
wise  unto  salvation."  Of  whom  had  Timothy  learned 
these  things  ?  Of  his  mother  Eunice  and  his  grand- 
mother Lois.  Shame  on  the  youth  who  thought- 
lessly repudiates  the  belief  of  his  parents!  O  double 
shame  on  him  who  turns  his  back  on  the  memory  of 
parental  teaching  and  makes  sport  of  it!  "  The  eye 
that  mocketh  at  his  father  and  despiseth  to  obey  his 
mother,  the  ravens  of  the  valley  shall  pick  it  out  and 
the  young  eagles  shall  eat  it." 

A  step  further  still  (for  it  will  be  perceived  that 
we  are  pursuing  the  argument  of  progressive 
approach  ) :  The  fact  that  a  doctrine  was  believed  by  our 
fathers  presents  a  strong  cumulative  argument  in  favor  of 
it.  A  proposition  which  has  stood  the  test  of  centu- 
ries of  controversy  pro  and  con  cannot  be  easily 
disposed  of.  The  creeds  or  doctrinal  symbols  of  the 
churches  represent  an  inestimable  amount  of  earnest 
prayerful  thought.  He  who  purchases  an  established 
business  is  expected  to  pay  not  only  for  the  stock  in 
hand  but  for  "the  good-will"  of  the  establishment. 
If  this  rule  be  applied  to  our  historic  creeds,  what  a 
mighty  appraisal  shall  be  placed  upon  them!  Take 
the  Apostles'  Creed.  See  the  noble  army  of  martyrs 
coming  this  way  holding  aloft  that  blood-stained 
banner  of  truth.  See  them  dropping  out  along  the 
path  of  the  centuries,  by  thousands,  at  the  beckoning 
of  the  flashing  ax  and  the  flaming  fagot.  It  means 
something  that  truths  like  these  have  been  red- 
stained  in  the  agony  of  the  ages.  This  "  good-will  " 
must  be  taken  into  the  reckoning  when  we  are  dis- 
cussing the  question  of  waiving  time-honored  symbols 


RELIGION    BY    INHERITANCE.  269 

of  doctrine.  The  cumulative  weight  of  the  painful 
controversy  of  centuries  cannot  be  supplanted  by 
passionate  protestation  against  "hide-bound  bondage 
to  the  past." 

A  step  further  brings  us  to  the  assertion  that 
there  are  certain  truths  which  never  change^  but  are,  in  the 
nature  of  the  case,  alike  to  the  fathers  and  to  us  j  namely, 
the  axioms  and  postulates.  I  speak  now  to  Christian 
people;  to  such  as  have  taken  their  position,  by 
covenant  vows,  on  these  very  axioms  and  postulates 
as  the  foundation  of  their  religious  life.  I  mean 
such  truths  as  the  Personality  of  God,  the  Divine 
Birth  of  Man  and  his  consequent  Immortality,  Sin 
and  the  Atonement,  the  Divinity  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  and  his  Resurrection  from  the  Dead,  the  Per- 
sonality of  the  Spirit  and  his  sovereign  Work  in  the 
Sanctification  of  the  Soul  and  its  Preparation  for  the 
Eternal  Life. 

Such  facts  may  be  called  in  question  by  unbe- 
lievers, with  some  show  of  reason;  but  those  who 
call  themselves  Christians  are  bound  to  accept  the 
fundamental  doctrines  of  Christianity  and  proceed 
from  them,  as  a  starting  point,  to  the  larger  matters 
of  faith  and  practice.  This  is  what  is  meant  by  the 
injunction,  "Therefore,  leaving  the  principles  of  the 
doctrine  of  Christ,  let  us  go  on  unto  perfection,  not 
laying  again  the  foundation  of  repentance  from  dead 
works  and  of  faith  toward  God"  (Heb.  vi,  i). 

What  then  is  the  meaning  of  this  demand  in  cer- 
tain quarters  that  we  shall  "get  back  to  the  original 
sources  "?  And  what  are  we  to  understand  by  cur- 
rent discussions  with  reference  to  such  doctrines  as 
the  divine   Personality  and   the  Immortality  of  the 


270  Religion  by  inheritance. 

Soul  ?  A  professor  of  mathematics  says  to  his 
pupils,  "There  is  an  illimitable  world  of  progress 
before  you:  I  invite  you  to  pursue  the  pathway  of 
the  stars.  But  if  you  would  accomplish  anything, 
or  get  anywhere,  you  must  plant  yourselves,  at  the 
outset,  on  the  axioms  and  postulates  of  Science.  Do 
not  forget  that  two  and  two  make  four;  and  that  a 
line  is  the  shortest  distance  between  two  points. 
Those  are  established  and  self-evident  facts."  The 
youth  who  insisted  upon  demonstrating  that  two  and 
two  make  four  would  spend  his  life  in  profound 
research  and  have  nothing  to  show  for  it.  An  archi- 
tect says  to  his  workmen,  "You  are  going  twenty- 
two  stories  into  the  air;  be  careful  to  keep  in  per- 
pendicular line  with  the  foundations.  If  you  move 
away  from  them,  your  building  will  come  down 
rattling  about  your  ears." 

Here  is  a  suggestion  for  "progressive  thinkers." 
Some  things  must  be  taken  for  granted,  that  is,  as 
established  facts.  If  we  insist  on  getting  back  of 
the  postulates  to  the  original  source,  we  shall  find 
ourselves  blocked  at  every  step.  I  read  recently  of 
a  Southern  negro,  controlled  by  the  superstitions  of 
his  race,  who  set  out  on  an  errand  to  a  neighboring 
plantation.  He  had  gone  a  mile,  perhaps,  when  an 
owl  hooted  from  the  bough  of  an  overhanging  tree. 
It  was  an  ill  omen ;  he  turned  back  straightway  to 
re-begin  his  journey.  He  had  gone  some  way  again 
into  the  forest  when  a  rabbit  ran  across  his  path. 
Another  ill  omen!  And  then  he  not  only  retraced 
his  steps,  but  must  needs  go  round  by  another  road 
to  his  destination.  There  are  men  who  think  them- 
selves friends  of  progress  who  pursue  their  quest  of 


RELIGION    BY    INHERITANCE.  Sjl 

truth  in  like  manner;  frightened  by  every  doubt 
they  turn  back  to  the  original  sources;  and  they 
never  get  anyvi^here;  their  only  progress  is  retro- 
gression. These  are  the  people  who  are  "ever 
learning  and  never  able  to  come  to  a  knowledge  of 
the  truth." 

The  next  step  in  our  argument  leads  us  to  affirm 
that  f/ie  divergencies  of  opinion  in  our  research  for  truth 
show  the  necessity  of  an  ultimate  standard  of  authority. 
The  use  of  reason  is  unchallenged;  but  reason  is 
not  enough;  it  shows  its  inadequacy  in  the  fact  that 
there  are  "  many  men  of  many  minds."  And  while 
truth  is  one,  the  results  of  intellectual  research  are 
many.  It  would  appear  that  if  there  is  anywhere  in 
the  universe  a  good  God,  he  must  have  given  his 
children  somewhere  an  authoritative  direction  for 
the  quest  of  the  great  verities.  And  this  is  the  claim 
of  the  Scriptures. 

The  relation  of  revelation  to  reason  is  clear.  A 
skipper  who  would  bring  his  cargo  safe  into  port 
must  sail  by  the  ship's  compass.  Yet  the  fallibility 
of  the  ship's  compass  is  shown  by  the  many  disasters 
which  have  recently  occurred,  owing  to  the  deflec- 
tion of  the  needle  by  the  iron  in  the  vessel's  hulk. 
So  when  the  skipper  is  in  doubt  he  must  needs  con- 
sult his  chart  and  take  an  observation  of  the  heavens. 
The  needle  may  be  deflected,  but  the  North  Star 
never  fails.  Thus  a  man  in  honest  pursuit  of  truth, 
uses  his  reason  to  the  utmost;  but,  when  bewildered, 
he  turns  to  the  authoritative  word  of  God  and  resorts 
to  the  secret  place  of  communion  with  him. 

And  this  is  ultimate;  otherwise  there  is  no  ulti- 
matum.    The    ship    follows    the    rudder,   the    rudder 


272  RELIGION   BY   INHERITANCE. 

follows  the  compass,  the  compass  follows  the  chart, 
and  the  chart  is  interpreted  by  observation  of  the 
skies.  "  If  any  man  lack  wisdom,  therefore,  let  him 
ask  of  God  who  giveth  to  all  men  liberally  and 
upbraideth  not,  and  it  shall  be  given  him." 

Our  next  step  brings  us  to  the  possibilities  of  prog- 
ress in  the  pursuit  of  truth.  The  limitations  which  we 
have  suggested  leave  us  quite  free.  It  is  a  mistake 
to  think  that  freedom  is  found  only  in  the  absence  of 
restraint.  Is  a  kite  freer  when  it  breaks  the  cord 
that  holds  it  ?  Is  a  ship  freer,  when  loosed  of  her 
rudder  she  rocks  helplessly  in  the  trough  of  the  sea? 
Is  a  locomotive  freer  when,  leaving  the  track,  it 
pursues  its  course  across  the  open  fields  ?  Nay; 
true  freedom  is  perfect  accord  with  perfect  law. 

And  within  the  boundaries  of  revelation  there  is 
illimitable  room  for  freedom  and  for  progress  in 
religious  paths.  Truth  is  like  the  sun;  put  one  of 
its  beams  through  a  prism  and  you  have  the  seven 
primary  colors,  which  correspond  to  the  funda- 
mental facts  of  religion.  You  cannot  get  behind  the 
seven  colors  of  the  spectrum,  but  you  may  make 
infinite  combinations  and  applications  of  them. 
Visit  the  Gobelin  looms,  or  the  laboratories  where 
favril  glass  is  made,  and  see  what  wonderful  com- 
binations of  hue  and  tint  are  possible  within  the 
limitations  of  the  seven  colors.  All  true  spiritual 
progress  is  made,  likewise,  along  the  paths  and 
within  the  circumscription  of  divine  revelation. 
Freebooters  may  rove  the  sea  at  will,  but  freighters, 
laden  with  God's  cargoes,  follow  the  schedule,  pur- 
sue their  appointed  paths  and  reach  their  desired 
haven. 


V  RELIGION    BY    INHERITANCE.  273 

It  remains  only  to  speak  oi personal  responsibility^  as 
our  last  step  in  the  argument.  Let  every  man,  hedged 
in  only  by  the  eternal  limitations  of  the  divine  law, 
think  for  himself,  and  suffer  no  man  to  do  his  thinking 
for  him.  No  inheritance  of  parental  piety  can  inhibit 
or  supersede  the  tremendous  importance  of  personal 
thought  and  conviction.  It  is  easy  to  accept  a  birth- 
right ;  it  is  not  so  easy  to  work  out  one's  own  salvation  ; 
this  must  be  done  "with  fear  and  trembling."  If  a 
man  has  inherited  an  error  in  belief,  he  is  divinely 
bound  to  rid  himself  of  it.  A  thief  who  pleads  inher- 
ited kleptomania,  or  a  drunkard  who  justifies  himself 
on  the  ground  that  he  has  gotten  dipsomania  from  his 
ancestors,  is  a  coward.  The  struggle  of  life  is  against 
heredity.  This  makes  men.  We  fight  against  the  sins 
and  errors  of  our  ancestors;  and  God  is  with  us.  It 
behooves  us  to  keep  all  the  good  and' cast  off  the  evil 
that  has  been  transmitted  to  us.  In  filial  loyalty 
we  must  give  due  weight  to  the  faith  and  practice 
of  our  ancestors;  but  we  shall  not  purge  ourselves  of 
personal  liability  save  by  directing  our  paths  in  the 
fear  of  God.     Tennyson  writes  in  his  In  Memoriam: 

The  baby  new  to  earth  and  sky, 
What  time  his  tender  palm  is  prest 
Against  the  circle  of  the  breast, 

Has  never  thought  that  This  is  I. 

But  as  he  grows  he  gathers  much, 
And  learns  the  use  of  I  and  me. 

And  finds  I  am  7iot  what  I  see. 
And  other  than  the  things  I  touch. 

A  man  has  not  really  found  himself  until  he  has 
made  this  discovery,  and  can  say  le/i  bin  ich.  Then 
and    thereafter   no    inheritance    of    the   fathers,    no 


274  RELIGION    BY   INHERITANCE. 

priest  nor  council,  can  relieve  him  of  the  necessity 
and  responsibility  of  blazing  his  own  path  heaven- 
ward with  no  fear  except  the  fear  of  God.  The 
faith  of  the  fathers  cannot  save  us  any  more  than 
their  sins  can  condemn  us.  "As  I  live,  saith  the 
Lord,  ye  shall  not  have  occasion  any  more  to  use 
this  proverb  in  Israel:  '  The  fathers  have  eaten  sour 
grapes,  and  the  children's  teeth  are  set  on  edge;' 
for  the  soul  that  sinneth  it  shall  die."  The  pre- 
sumption is  in  favor  of  the  ancestral  faith;  but  as  a 
man  loves  life  and  immortality  let  him  make  it  his 
own.  It  has  no  real  spiritual  value  until  it  becomes 
his  very  own. 

The  newspapers  say  that  a  youth  stood,  yesterday, 
in  front  of  one  of  our  hotels  and  threw  gold  pieces  to  a 
scrambling  crowd.  It  is  quite  safe  to  assert  that 
he  had  not  earned  one  of  those  gold  pieces  by  his 
own  industry.  He  was  the  heir  of  the  sweat  of  his 
father's  brow.  But  when  all  that  treasure  is  thrown 
away  and  he,  driven  to  poverty,  is  obliged  to  earn  gold 
for  himself,  we  may  rest  assured  that  he  will  not  thus 
squander  it.  In  like  manner  the  value  of  a  creed,  which 
is  above  rubies  or  the  gold  of  Ophir,  comes  not  by 
inheritance  but  by  appropriation.  There  are  heirs  who 
use  their  patrimony  to  their  profit,  and  use  it  well. 
There  are  multitudes  of  Christians  who  receive  the 
faith  of  their  fathers  in  such  manner  that  it  becomes 
ingrained  with  their  very  being;  an  eternal  gain,  by 
which  they  are  enriched  toward  God. 

But  of  this  let  us  be  certain:  no  man  can  live 
spiritually  by  proxy.  He  cannot  sin  by  proxy,  nor 
be  pardoned  in  that  way.  Each  for  himself  must 
thoughtfully  accept  Christ,  so  that  the  blood  shall 


>  RELIGION    BY    INHERITANCE.  275 

be  sprinkled  upon  the  lintels  of  his  own  heart.  He 
cannot  believe  by  proxy,  nor  can  he  thus  work  right- 
eousness. Here  is  the  solemn  truth  which  throws 
us  back  upon  our  personal  responsibility  in  all 
things  pertaining  to  faith  and  practice: 

We  came  alone  into  the  world  and  alone  pursue  our 
•way  J  alone  we  die  and  alone  must  stand  in  Judgment :  as 
it  is  written,  ' '  So  then  every  one  of  us  shall  giie  account 
of  himself  to  God. 


A  MAN  AT  HIS  BEST 

"  Now  thanks  be  unto  God,  which  always  causeth  us  to  triumph  in  Christ, 
and  maketh  manifest  the  savor  of  his  knowledge  by  us  in  every  place.  For 
we  are  unto  God  a  sweet  savor  of  Christ,  in  them  that  are  saved,  and  in  them 
that  perish  ;  to  the  one  we  are  the  savor  of  death  unto  death  ;  and  to  the  other 
the  savor  of  life  into  life.  And  who  is  sufficient  for  these  things  ? "  II.  Cor, 
2, 14-16. 

The  Dignity  of  Man  is  much  emphasized  in  these 
days.  It  rests  in  his  divine  origin ;  and  in  his  rela- 
tive position  in  the  universe  as  set  forth  by  Cowper: 

"  I  am  monarch  of  all  I  survey, 
My  right  there  is  none  to  dispute  ; 

From  the  center  all  round  to  the  sea 
I  am  lord  of  the  fowl  and  the  brute." 

It  rests,  furthermore,  in  his  capacity  of  high  pur- 
pose and  aspiration,  "He  carries  in  his  brain," 
says  Carlyle,  "the  geography  of  the  universe  and 
the  unfathomable  galaxies."  His  supremacy  is 
affirmed,  also,  by  his  achievements.  He  makes  the 
iron  to  svi^im,  sends  his  voice  echoing  around  the 
world,  chains  the  lightning  and  despatches  it  upon 
his  errands  under  the  sea.  He  leads  armies  to  con- 
quest, uprears  thrones  and  dynasties  and  makes  for 
himself  a  diadem  of  glory.  And  what  then  ?  We 
throw  life  down  and  tread  upon  it  as  if  it  were  a  dis- 
appointing book,  saying,  "It  does  not  end  well." 
If   this   be   all,  then    indeed  do  men   "spend  their 

(276) 


A    MAN    AT    HIS   BEST,  277 

years  as  a  tale  that  is  told."  For  what  is  the  sum 
total?  Man  goeth  to  his  long  home,  and  the  mourn- 
ers walk  about  the  streets. 

But  Paul  holds  another  view  of  the  Dignity  of 
Man.  He  conceives  of  it  as  measured  by  his  relation 
to  Christ.  This  Christ,  as  Son  of  God  and  Son  of 
Man,  is  in  Paul's  philosophy  the  Mediator;  who, 
stretching  out  one  hand  to  the  sinner  and  the  other 
to  a  justly  offended  God,  brings  them  into  a  sweet 
and  eternal  at-one-ment.  He  thus  not  only  restores 
man  to  his  original  innocency,  but  brings  liim  into  a 
closer  communion  and  more  honorable  co-operation 
with  God.  And  this  is  the  Ascent  of  Man,  as  Paul 
conceives  it. 

This  thought  is  thrown  into  relief  in  our  text, 
which  presents  the  picture  of  a  Triumphal  Proces- 
sion. All  Rome  is  keeping  holiday.  Lo,  the  con- 
quering hero  comes!  The  streets  are  lined  with 
spectators;  they  lean  from  the  windows,  they  crowd 
the  housetops.  Triumphal  arches  span  the  approaches 
to  the  Forum  ;  braziers  for  burning  incense  have  been 
placed  at  intervals  along  the  thoroughfares.  A  blast 
of  trumpets!  The  procession  draws  near  on  the 
Appian  Way.  In  the  forefront  the  lictors,  bearing 
fasces  as  symbols  of  their  imperial  authority.  After 
them  the  Senators,  a  body  of  distinguished  and 
venerable  men.  Then  a  line  of  trumpeters,  rending 
the  air  with  shrill  blasts;  followed  by  a  train  of 
wagons  laden  with  spoils  from  battle-fields  and  van- 
quished cities:  arms  and  armor,  cloth  of  gold, 
statues,  inlaid  wares  and  ornaments,  chests  of  treas- 
ure, gold  and  silver  vases.  Then  a  succession  of 
floats,  bearing   models  of  fortified  cities  and  strong- 


278  A    MAN    AT    HIS    BEST, 

holds,  to  emphasize  the  prowess  of  the  returning 
veterans.  Cages  of  lions  and  other  ravenous  beasts, 
with  a  troop  of  elephants,  from  the  subjugated  lands. 
A  band  of  flute-players.  A  score  of  slaves,  leading 
white  bulls  for  sacrifice.  Incense-burners,  from 
whose  swinging  censers,  as  from  the  braziers  by  the 
wayside,  rise  clouds  of  heavy  perfume.  Then  the 
Conqueror.  Hail  to  the  chief!  Captive  princes  and 
magnates,  bound  with  gold  manacles  to  his  chariot,  i 
A  troop  of  prisoners,  their  faces  downcast  or  defiant, 
exposed  to  the  abuse  and  derision  of  the  populace. 
Officers,  courtiers,  horsemen,  footmen ;  the  weary, 
triumphant  host.  And  last  of  all,  the  rabble.  On 
they  surge  toward  the  Capitoline  Hill  where  a  heca- 
tomb of  victims  will  be  offered  to  great  Jupiter,  and 
awards  proclaimed  for  deeds  of  prowess  on  the  field. 

This  is  the  pageant  which  presents  itself  to  the 
mind  of  Paul;  but  above  and  beyond  it  is  the  great 
Triumph  for  which  it  stands,  the  march  of  Emmanuel 
through  history  and  onward  to  the  Golden  Age. 
The  boast  of  the  apostle  is  that  he  is  a  personal 
factor  in  this  glorious  event;  and  thus  he  presents 
his  conception  of  the  Dignity  of  Man. 

In  order  to  a  full  understanding  of  our  text  and 
its  lesson,  we  may  venture  to  fill  out  the  silhouette 
by  a  comparison  with  other  passages  where  Paul 
makes  use  of  the  same  metaphor.  For  the  ultimate 
triumph  of  Christ  is  constantly  before  his  mind ; 
and  amid  all  trials,  perils  and  discouragements,  he 
finds  inspiration  in  the  assurance  that,  suffering  with 
his  Lord,  he  shall  also  reign  with  him. 

He  claims  an  honorable  place,  to  begin  with,  as  a 
Soldier  in   the  Ranks.     He  keeps  step  with  the  vie- 


A    MAN    AT     HIS    BEST.  279 

torious  host,  who  returning  from  the  perils  and  hard- 
ships of  camp  and  battle,  hear  with  swelling  hearts 
the  acclamations  of  the  people.  He  glories  in  the 
success  of  his  great  Captain  and  is  proud  to  follow 
him. 

There  is  something  pathetic  in  Paul's  partiality 
for  martial  figures.  He  longs  to  be  a  soldier;  yet 
there  is  not  a  recruiting  officer  in  the  Roman  army 
that  would  enroll  him.  For,  by  his  own  confession, 
he  was  of  "mean  presence."  There  is  reason  to 
believe  that  he  was  weak-eyed,  of  small  stature  and 
probably  hump-backed;  yet  this  little  Jew, — this 
blinking,  limping  scholar,  who  could  scarcely  have 
held  his  own  with  an  "awkward  squad,"  or  aimed 
an  arrow  straight — would  be  a  soldier!  He  writes  to 
a  young  friend  at  Ephesus  exhorting  him  to  be  a 
good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  "endure  hardness," 
to  fight  the  good  fight  of  faith,  to  put  on  the  whole 
armor,  helmet,  breastplate  and  sandals,  that  he  may 
be  able  to  stand  and  withstand  in  the  evil  day.  This 
martial  spirit  runs  through  all  his  epistles  ;  the  flash 
of  conquest  is  ever  in  his  eyes. 

And  Paul  was  a  soldier;  never  a  better  nor  a 
braver  than  he!  In  perils  oft,  on  stormy  seas  and 
over  burning  deserts,  upward  along  the  rugged 
steeps  of  Macedonia  and  through  the  fastnesses  of 
Syria  he  bore  the  red  banner  of  the  cross.  He  gloried 
in  danger  and  exposure.  He  wore  himself  out 
in  the  long,  fierce  conflict;  and,  dying  at  last,  a 
prisoner  in  chains,  he  exulting  cried,  "I  have  fought 
a  good  fight!  Henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a 
crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord  the  right- 
eous Judge  shall  give  me  in  that  day." 


28o  A    MAN    AT    HIS    BEST. 

It  is  quite  the  fashion,  nowadays,  to  cry  down 
this  martial  aspect  of  the  Christian  life.  Our  Sun- 
day-schools must  no  longer  sing,  "I'm  glad  I'm  in 
this  army. "  Doubt  is  expressed  as  to  the  propriety 
of  such  inspiring  hymns  as  "Onward  Christian 
soldiers."  But  did  not  Christ  say,  "  I  am  not  come 
to  bring  peace  into  the  world,  but  a  sword  "?  Are 
we  not  exhorted  to  go  forth,  under  the  Captain  of 
our  salvation,  to  destroy  the  strongholds  of  evil? 
Aye;  an  earnest  life  is  an  unceasing  campaign 
against  the  forces  that  make  for  error  and  unright- 
eousness, "  the  world  and  the  flesh  and  the  devil." 

A  man  in  the  ranks  of  the  conquering  army, 
which  is  to  achieve  an  ultimate  peace  by  conquest  in 
this  Holy  War,  finds  himself  at  his  best;  at  his  best, 
because  at  his  bravest  and  manliest.  Here  is  the 
glory  of  earthly  life,  to  have  part  in  the  campaign  of 
Emmanuel,  to  disencumber  one's  self  of  lower  things 
in  order  to  lend  a  hand  in  the  conquest  of  the  world; 
to  sit  after  a  while  with  those  who  shall  gather 
around  the  campfires  of  heaven,  and  show  "the 
marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus,"  honorable  scars  received 
in  his  service.  The  highest  place  in  heaven  is  re- 
served for  him  who  "overcometh"  in  this  strife 
against  the  forces  of  evil.  "To  him  that  overcom- 
eth will  I  give  to  sit  together  with  me  in  my  throne." 
— "To  him  that  overcometh  will  I  give  a  white  stone 
with  a  new  name  written  therein,  which  no  man 
knoweth  save  he  that  receiveth  it." 

But  the  figure  changes,  and  Paul  is  seeti  no  longer  as 
a  Soldier,  but  as  a  Prisoner  led  about  in  chains  to  grace 
the  triumph  of  his  Lord.  This  is  his  "missionary 
itinerary,"  of  which  we  hear  so  much.   He  is  paraded 


/  A    MAN    AT    HIS    BEST.  281 

up  and  down  as  "an  ensample  "  of  the  prowess  of 
his  Conqueror  (I.  Tim.  i,  15,  16).  If  a  man  may 
not  be  a  soldier  in  the  victorious  ranks,  let  this  suffice 
him,  to  be  like  Paul  "a  gazingstock  "  (Heb.  to,  ;^^). 
He  sees  himself  exposed  to  the  scorn  of  the  multi- 
tude, his  proud  will  subdued,  his  heart  broken  by 
sovereign  grace.  Ashamed?  Hear  him:  "I,  Paul, 
the  prisoner  of  the  Lord!  "  Nay,  rather,  he  glories 
in  his  humiliation  for  Jesus' sake.  "I  am  not  ashamed 
of  the  gospel  of  Christ;  for  it  is  the  power  of  God 
unto  salvation." 

The  conversion  of  Paul  was  to  his  mind  a  com- 
plete subjugation.  There  is  a  world  of  meaning  in 
that  word — "passing  under  the  yoke."  This  is  in 
pursuance  of  the  Master's  injunction,  "Take  my 
yoke  upon  you."  At  the  moment  when,  as  in  a  sun- 
burst, the  apostle  perceived  the  real  character  of 
Christ,  he  cried  out,  "What  wilt  thou  have  me  to 
do  ?"  He  threw  himself  before  his  Conqueror's  feet 
and,  with  himself,  surrendered  all;  his  noble  birth, 
his  splendid  culture,  his  magnificent  prospects,  all 
were  yielded  up  without  reserve  or  condition  when 
he  passed  under  his  new  Master's  yoke.  It  is  always 
so  with  a  truly  converted  man;  he  sees  himself  as  no 
longer  his  own,  but  bought  with  a  price,  even  the 
precious  blood  of  Jesus,  as  of  a  lamb  without  blemish 
and  without  spot. 

The  subsequent  life  of  Paul  was  thraldom.  He 
calls  himself  dou/os,  a  bondslave.  He  writes,  "The 
love  of  Christ  constraineth "  me  (II.  Cor.  5,  14). 
The  throne  had  been  abdicated  by  self  and  Christ 
had  taken  it.  What  now  would  his  Master  have  him 
do  ?     Where    would    he  have  him  go  ?     What  would 


282  A    MAN    AT    HIS    BEST. 

he  have  him  say  or  suffer  ?  These  were  the  questions 
that  dominated  his  being.  He  sought  to  bring  "every 
thoHght  into  captivity  to  the  obedience  of  Christ." 

And  yet  Paul  insists  that  he  is  free.  In  passing 
under  the  yoke  of  Jesus  he  has  entered  into  '  'the  glori- 
ous liberty  of  the  children  of  God."  How  is  this?  "He 
is  the  freeman  whom  the  truth  makes  free. "  Or  it 
might  be  written  equally  well,  He  is  the  free  man 
whom  the  law  makes  free.  For  freedom  is  found 
only  in  the  abandon  of  joyous  obedience  to  perfect 
law.  Let  us  make  no  mistake  as  to  this  matter  of 
freedom,  in  whose  holy  name,  as  Madame  Roland 
said,  "so  many  grievous  wrongs  are  committed."  A 
comet  whizzing  through  space,  without  rein  or  orbit, 
plunging  into  the  depths  of  infinite  darkness  at  its 
own  sweet  will,  is  not  free;  but  once  let  it  enter  the 
province  of  the  solar  system  and  fall  under  the 
control  of  gravitation;  and  straightway  of  necessity 
it  finds  an  orbit;  and  thenceforth,  delivered  from 
chaos  and  under  the  behest  of  cosmos,  it  pursues  its 
way,  obedient  yet  ever  free.  So  a  man  swept  by 
passion  is  at  his  worst;  he  finds  himself,  only  when 
he  discovers  the  law  of  his  being  and  enters  into  a 
cordial  compliance  with  it;  and  this  brings  him,  as  a 
captive,  into  the  train  of  the  triumphant  Son  of  Man. 

Again  the  figure  changes,  and  Paul  sees  himself  an 
incense  bearer  in  the  retinue  of  the  Co?iqueror.  As  an 
apostle,  declaring  the  unsearchable  riches  of  the 
gospel,  he  cries,  "Thanks  be  unto  God,  who  always 
causeth  us  to  triumph  in  Christ,  and  maketh  mani- 
fest the  savor  of  his  knowledge  by  us  in  every  place." 
Paul  is  ever  jealous  of  his  apostleship;  "  the  least  of 
the    apostles,"    indeed,    "as    one   born    out   of   due 


4'  A    MAN    AT    HIS    BEST.  283 

season,"  yet  ever  ready  to  vindicate  his  prerogative. 
"I,  Paul,  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ!"  To  this 
altitude  of  honor  he  ascends  by  three  successive  steps. 

First:  He  was  "chosen  from  the  foundation  of 
the  world."  So  indeed  is  every  one  who  follows 
Christ.  Nor  does  this  eternal  choice  affect  the 
sovereignty  of  the  individual  will.  You  who  are 
worshiping  in  this  sanctuary  will  presently  pass  out 
through  one  of  those  three  doors.  It  is  obvious  that 
God  must  have  foreknown  which  of  them  you  will 
take;  yet  there  is  not  one  who  does  not  know  to  a 
certainty  that  he  is  quite  free  to  pass  through  which- 
ever door  he  will.  In  other  words,  the  alleged  con- 
tradiction between  foreordination  and  the  freedom  of 
the  will  is  purely  fictitious.  The  solution  of  the 
difficulty  is  one  of  plain  common  sense.  Paul  had 
been  chosen  to  a  place  in  the  cortege  of  Jesus,  yet  it 
none  the  less  devolved  upon  him  to  assume  it. 

Second:  He  was  "called."  The  time  came  when 
a  voice  spoke  to  him  out  of  heaven,  "Saul!  Saul!" 
So  in  universal  experience,  there  is  a  supreme 
moment  when  the  alluring  voices  of  truth  and  right- 
eousness seem  all  converged  in  one;  a  voice  that  calls 
us  by  name,  saying,  "  Rise  up  and  follow  me!  "  And 
on  that  moment  pivot  the  eternal  issues  of  life  and 
death. 

Third:  Paul  was  "separated"  to  his  apostolic 
office.  I  think  the  time  of  this  separation  was  when 
he  sojourned  in  a  certain  "house  in  the  street  called 
Straight";  where,  being  blind  for  a  season,  he  saw 
visions  which  had  never  come  to  his  open  eyes.  Then 
Ananias  laid  his  hand  upon  him  saying,  "  Brother 
Saul,  the  Lord,  even  Jesus,   who  appeared  unto  thee 


284  A    MAN    AT    HIS    BEST. 

in  the  way  as  thou  earnest,  hast  sent  me,  that  thou 
mightest  receive  thy  sight  and  be  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost."  This  was  his  setting  apart  from  the  world 
to  missionary  service.  And  "he  rose  forthwith  and 
was  baptized,"  and  set  forth  upon  his  Master's  work. 
He  understood  that,  henceforth,  his  back  was  upon 
the  world  and  his  face  toward  the  kingdom  and 
triumph  of  Christ.  He  was  separated  to  declare  the 
gospel  to  the  Gentiles;  yet  not  more  separated  than 
every  Christian.  "Thanks  be  unto  God,  which 
always  causeth  us  to  triumph  in  Christ  and  maketh 
manifest  the  saviour  of  his  knowledge  in  every 
place!"  We  are  all  incense  burners,  setting  forth 
his  praises  in  the  gospel  of  life. 

But  the  apostle  is  here  moved  by  a  most  solemn 
consideration  ;  to  wit,  the  incense  which  rises  from 
his  censer  is  to  some  a  savor  of  life  unto  life,  but 
to  others  of  death  unto  death.  It  was  thus  in  the 
procession  of  the  pagan  conqueror.  The  air  was 
heavy  with  a  perfume  of  frankincense  as  he  rode 
onward  to  the  Capitoline  Hill. .  To  the  captives  who 
followed  in  his  train  that  perfume  was  as  bitter  as 
myrrh;  for  they  were  approaching  their  doom;  to 
the  galleys,  to  the  rock-hewn  dungeons,  to  the  sacri- 
ficial altar.  But  to  others  that  perfume  was  inex- 
pressibly sweet;  for  they  were  passing  on  to  praise 
and  promotion.  To  these  it  meant  home,  triumph, 
the  plaudits  of  the  multitude.  Thus  the  gospel 
which  we  preach  means  death  or  life.  "  And  who  is 
sufficient  unto  these  things?"  Yet  must  we  swing 
the  censer:  for  though  no  man  who  hears  the  gos- 
pel can  be  again  precisely  the  same  man,  but  either 
better  or  worse  for  hearing  it;  yet  the  sorrow  is  an 


A    MAN    AT    HIS    BEST.  285 

ever  vanishing  one,  like  night  fleeing  at  the  approach 
of  dawn.  For  in  the  passing  years,  the  number  of 
those  who  reject  the  gospel  to  their  own  destruction 
grows  less  and  less,  while  ever  more  and  more  "pris- 
oners of  hope  "  are  taken,  and  the  song  of  salvation 
grows  louder,  and  will,  until  the  glory  of  our  Lord 
shall  cover  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea. 

Thanks  be  to  God,  therefore,  who  always  causeth 
us  to  triumph  in  Christ  and  maketh  manifest  the 
savor  of  his  knowledge  by  us!  O  the  high  privilege 
of  marching  in  the  ranks  of  our  triumphant  Lord! 
What  are  the  honors  of  the  earth  to  this?  How  it 
exalts  the  humblest  life!  The  Captain  of  our  salva- 
tion is  moving  grandly  on  to  the  subjugation  of  the 
world.  To  march  with  him  as  Soldier,  Prisonerif  need 
be,  or  Incense-burner,  this  is  to  fulfil  our  high  destiny. 

Let  us  close  our  eyes  for  a  moment  and  stop  our 
ears  to  the  confused  noises  of  the  world.  The  trum- 
pets blare  in  heaven;  the  King  draws  nigh!  Angels 
and  archangels  wheel  into  line.  Earth  sends  up  its 
shout  of  victory.  Hail  to  the  King!  Let  angels 
prostrate  fall !  O  glory  unspeakable  to  have  a  place 
in  the  triumphant  host!     This  is  the  honor  of  a  man. 

We  open  our  eyes  again  and,  lo,  the  world  is 
about  us.  Here  are  men  and  women  groping  among 
the  baubles  that  lie  scattered  along  their  path.  There 
is  a  cry  for  help  on  every  hand,  and  few  to  heed  it. 
There  are  hands  uplifted  and  souls  pleading,  "  Come 
over  and  help  us";  and  few  to  regard  them.  Sursum 
corda !  Up  with  your  hearts,  men  and  women  of 
Christ!  The  clouds  of  incense  rise.  Thanks  be  to 
God  for  the  privilege  of  serving  him,  in  doing  good 
as  we  have  opportunity  unto  all  men. 


286  A    MAN    AT    HIS   BEST. 

Our  Master  speaks:  "  If  any  man  will  come  after 
me,  let  him  deny  himself,  take  up  his  cross  and 
follow  me;  For  he  that  findeth  his  life  shall  lose  it, 
but  he  that  loseth  his  life  for  my  name's  sake  and 
the  gospel's  shall  find  it."  Let  us  misuse  no  gift, 
waste  no  privilege,  squander  no  opportunity.  The 
hands  sweep  around  the  dial.  Give,  pray,  preach 
the  evangel,  unsheath  the  sword,  swing  the  censers, 
forget  self,  honor  the  King.  So  shall  each  of  us 
attain  unto  the  full  stature  of  a  man;  for  the  chief 
end  of  man  is  not  self-pleasing,  but  to  glorify  God. 


THE  INIMITABLE  CHRIST 

"Tarry  ye  here  and  watch."— Mark  14,  34. 
"  Sit  ye  here  while  I  go  and  pray  yonder."— Matt.  25,  36. 
"  And  he  was  withdrawn  from  them  about  a  stone's  cast,  and  kneeled 
down  and  prayed." — Luke  22,  41, 

In  every  well-furnished  library  there  is  a  copy  of 
the  "Delmitatione  Christi,"  by  Thomas  dKempis.  He 
was  a  priest  in  the  convent  of  Mount  Saint  Agnes;  a 
mystic,  a  dreamer  of  dreams  and  seer  of  visions. 
He  lived  in  troublesome  times.  The  Reformation 
was  beginning  to  turn  the  world  upside  down.  The 
mind  and  conscience  of  the  people  were  in  revolt 
against  ecclesiastical  tyranny.  France  and  England 
stood  at  sword's  points.  Two  Popes,  at  Rome  and 
Avignon,  were  anathematizing  each  other  like  fish- 
wives. Great  problems  were  being  broached  in 
Church  Councils.  The  Inquisition  was  getting  under 
way;  swords  were  flashing;  fagot  fires  were  kindling. 
But  Thomas  d  Kempis  cared  nothing  for  these  things. 
The  placid,  blue-eyed  old  man  was  illuminating 
missals  in  the  cloister  and  writing  "The  Imitation  of 
Christ."  His  book  has  been  translated  into  more 
languages  than  any  other  except  the  Bible,  and  has 
had  an  inestimable  influence  over  the  minds  of  men. 

The  importance  of  imitating  Christ  cannot  be  em- 
phasized too  deeply;  but  it  may  be  misapprehended. 

(^87) 


288  THE   INIMITABLE    CHRIST. 

There  is  an  imitable  and  also  an  inimitable 
Christ.  Up  to  a  certain  point  we  may  approach  him 
in  affectionate  fellowship,  but  beyond  that  we  must 
needs  stand  still  and  adore.  Draw  near!  Draw 
near — but  not  too  near! 

I.  A  difficulty  presents  itself  in  connection  with  his 
singular  Personality.  He  was  and  is  Theanthroposj  that 
is,  God  and  Man,  knit  together.  As  such  he  stands 
alone  and  singular.  There  is  no  other  in  the  uni- 
verse like  him. 

On  his  human  side  he  cannot  be  approached 
too  near.  A  woman  who  was  a  sinner  came  to  him 
once,  as  he  sat  at  meat,  and,  breaking  an  alabaster 
box  of  precious  ointment,  anointed  his  feet.  His 
disciples  exchanged  glances  of  disapproval,  but  he 
said,  "Let  her  alone;  she  hath  wrought  a  good 
work  on  me."  The  time  came,  however,  when 
Mary  of  Magdala  would  have  embraced  his  feet 
and  he  forbade  her,  saying,  "Touch  me  not!" 
Something  had  happened  in  the  meantime,  which 
had  placed  a  profound  emphasis  on  his  Godhood ; 
in  view  of  which  her  gratitude  must  be  commingled 
with  the  utmost  self-abasement  and  reverent  adora- 
tion. It  behooves  us  to  give  attention  to  this  fact; 
because  in  our  time  the  affectionate  type  of  piety  is 
much  in  vogue.  Not  that  I  would  disturb  the 
comfort  of  those  who  find  in  Jesus  their  dearest 
Friend;  but  the  divine  factor  must  not  be  left  out. 
Jesus  is  ever,  on  his  Godward  side,  at  an  infinite 
remove  from  us.  He  calls  us  near,  as  he  invited 
Thomas  to  thrust  his  finger  into  the  print  of  the 
nails;  yet  in  the  very  front  of  his  infinite  kindness 
we  withdraw  our  hands  and  drop  our  eyes,  dazzled 


THE   INIMITABLE   CHRIST.  289 

by  the  effulgence  of  his  glory,  crying,  like  Thomas, 
"My  Lord  and  my  God!" 

II.  As  to  the  teaching  of  Christ ;  how  far  may  we 
imitate  it?  Let  it  be  observed  that  his  method  of 
instruction  was  as  unique  as  his  personality.  It  is 
written,  "He  taught  not  as  the  scribes — that  is,  by 
reference  to  tradition  and  precedent  —  but  with 
authority."  The  word  is  exousia^  meaning  literally, 
"from  within."  In  other  words  he  drew  from  an 
inward  and  inexhaustible  source  of  truth.  His  word 
was  "  Yea  "  and  "Amen,"  and  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say 
unto  you!  "  It  is  apparent  that,  at  this  point,  he  parts 
company  with  us. 

In  our  teaching  of  spiritual  things  there  are  two 
possible  extremes.  One  is  a  certain  vagueness  or 
ambiguity,  much  prevalent  in  these  days.  And  of 
this  the  world  is  weary.  It  has  had  enough  of 
hypotheses;  it  wants  positive  propositions.  A  man 
is  competent  to  do  his  own  guessing;  why  should  he 
have  spiritual  teachers  to  guess  for  him?  And  "if 
the  trumpet  give  an  uncertain  sound,  who  shall 
prepare  himself  for  the  battle?"  The  people  are 
saying  "Tell  us  what  you  know;  spare  us  your  ifs 
and  perhapses  and  peradventures.  We  face  eternity : 
can  you  tell  us  aught  about  it  ?" 

The  other  extreme  is  dogmatism.  And  no  man 
can  safely  dogmatize  in  these  days.  That  which  was 
sublimely  impressive  in  Christ  becomes  grotesque  in 
any  other.  Yet  here  and  there  one  may  be  found 
who  answers  to  the  description  of  Hudibras: 

"  For  he  was  of  that  stubborn  crew, 
Of  errant  saints,  whom  all  men  know 
To  be  the  true  Church  militant: 


290  THE   INIMITABLE   CHRIST. 

Such  as  do  built  their  faith  upon 
The  holy  text  of  pike  and  drum. 
Decide  all  controversies  by 
Infallible  artillery, 
And  prove  the  doctrine  orthodox 
By  Apostolic  blows  and  knocks." 

The  true  gospeler,  however,  speaks  with  posi- 
tiveness  by  leaning  on  the  authority  of  Christ.  He 
does  not  say,  "I  say  unto  you";  but,  "Thus  saith 
my  Lord."  He  cannot  allow  that  there  is  any  uncer- 
tainty as  to  the  things  taught  by  Jesus  Christ.  To 
him  the  testimony  of  his  Lord  is  ultimate;  he  has  no 
disposition  to  get  beyond  or  behind  it.  He  offers  no 
doctrine  of  his  own.  He  occupies  the  position  of  a 
"  paying  teller  "  for  his  Lord,  giving  out  truths  that 
bear  the  image  and  superscription  of  the  King.  To 
assume  authority  of  his  own  in  these  premises  would 
be  to  utter  spurious  coin.  But  with  the  understand- 
ing that  the  infallible  Christ  stands  sponsor  for  his 
utterance  he  may  speak  with  absolute  positiveness, 
saying,  "  This  is  true,  because  it  is  written  in  the 
word,"  or,  "This  is  true,  because  my  Master  has 
said  it." 

HL  As  to  his  Wonderful  Works :  these  also  were 
singular  and,  in  so  far  as  they  were  miraculous,  inimitable. 
He  wrought  these  wonders  in  his  own  name  and  by 
his  own  power.  He  did  not  even  appeal  to  the 
Father,  but  said  to  the  stormy  waves,  "Be  still!" 
and  they  obeyed  him:  to  the  dead,  "Come  forth!" 
and  the  King  of  Terrors  acknowledged  his 
sovereignty.    The  source  of  this  power  was  within  him. 

The  apostles  were  endued  with  charismata  or 
spiritual  gifts,  by  which  they  also  were  enabled  to 


THE   INIMITABLE   CHRIST.  291 

work  miracles.  These  were  necessary  in  the  forma- 
tive period  of  the  church.  Let  it  be  observed,  how- 
ever, that  the  apostles,  even  with  this  peculiar 
endowment,  did  not  undertake  to  work  miracles  by- 
any  indwelling  power  but  only  in  Jesus'  name.  As 
Peter  and  John  were  passing  through  the  Gate  Beau- 
tiful they  said  to  the  cripple,  "  In  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ  of  Nazareth  rise  up  and  walk!  "  And  when 
they  were  called  to  account  by  the  Jewish  elders,  in 
the  Sanhedrin,  on  the  following  day  their  words 
were,  **  If  we  this  day  be  examined  of  the  good  thing 
done  to  the  impotent  man,  be  it  known  unto  you  all, 
and  unto  all  the  people  of  Israel,  that  by  the  name 
of  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth,  whom  ye  crucified, 
whom  God  raised  from  the  dead,  even  by  him  doth 
this  man  stand  here  before  you  whole." 

It  is  an  open  question  whether  or  no  miracles  are 
wrought  in   our  time.     There  is  indeed  no  lack  of 
"  testimonials."    A  physician  of  prominence  recently 
said  to  me,  "There  is  not  a  charlatan  in  New  York 
who    cannot    show    better    credentials    than    mine. 
There  is  not  an  herb-doctor,  clairvoyant  or  Christian 
Scientist    who    cannot   produce    a   larger   array    of 
crutches    and    bandages,    in    demonstration    of    his 
healing   power,    than  the    most  distinguished   prac- 
titioner   of    the    legitimate     schools."      How    shall 
we    account    for   this?      The    wrist-bone    of    Saint 
Ann  is  in  evidence.     The  fountain  shrine  of  Lourdes 
is    a    museum    of   the    trophies    of   mystical    thera- 
peutics.    But  let  this  pass;  I  have  no  disposition  to 
investigate  here  and  now  the  authenticity    of   such 
marvellous  works.      I  merely  say  that  in  no  case  are 
they  to  be  classed  with  the  miracles  of  Christ  who 


292  THE   INIMITABLE   CHRIST. 

wrought   by  virtue   of  the  omnipotency  which  dwelt 
within  him. 

One  miracle,  however,  is  possible  to  the  hum- 
blest of  the  followers  of  Christ;  to  wit,  Conversion. 
And  this  is  most  important  and  stupendous  of  all. 
To  open  blind  eyes  or  heal  sickness,  to  prolong  life 
for  an  handbreadth  at  best,  is  an  insignificant  mat- 
ter in  comparison  with  the  bringing  of  a  soul  out  of 
darkness  and  the  shadow  of  death  into  the  glorious 
light  and  liberty  of  the  children  of  God.  I  say  this 
is  possible  to  every  follower  of  Christ;  as  it  is  writ- 
ten, "He  that  converteth  a  sinner  from  the  error  of 
his  ways  shall  save  a  soul  from  death  and  cover  a 
multitude  of  sins."  Yet  this  miracle  is  not  of  our- 
selves. "Not  by  might  nor  by  power,  but  by  my 
Spirit,  saith  the  Lord."  Of  ourselves  we  can  do 
nothing.  At  best  we  only  bring  the  soul  into  the 
presence  and  under  the  saving  grace  of  Jesus.  It  is 
recorded  that  when  he  came  down  from  the  Mount 
of  Transfiguration,  with  the  glory  yet  lingering  on 
his  face,  he  found  a  demoniac  boy,  writhing  and 
foaming  at  his  lips.  The  disciples  were  there,  but 
they  could  not  heal  him;  and  their  enemies  stood  by 
deriding  them.  "O  ye  of  little  faith!"  he  cried, 
"How  long  shall  I  bear  with  you?"  And  then, 
"  Bring  him  to  me !  "  And  they  brought  the  boy  to 
Jesus  who  straightway  healed  him.  Pass  it  along  the 
line,  "  Bring  them  to  Jesus!  "  In  any  case  of  either 
physical  or  spiritual  infirmity  this  is  the  utmost  we 
can  do.  No  man  can  save  his  fellow  from  the  power 
of  sin.  *^Absolvo  te'' ?  Aye;  any  follower  of  Christ 
can  say,  "Absolve  te,"  providing  he  will  reverently 
add,  "/«  no?nine  /esu" J  for  Christ  alone  hath  power 


THE    INIMITABLE    CHRIST,  293 

on  earth  to  forgive  sin.  We  have  the  power  of  the 
keys,  indeed,  but  Christ  is  the  door;  our  part  is  to 
open  the  door  that  souls  may  enter  in. 

IV.  We  come  now  to  the  Character  of  Jesus:  and  here 
also  he  is  infinitely  removed  from  us.  He  was  in  all 
points  such  as  we  are  only  without  sin.  Only  without 
sin?  O,  mighty  stone's  cast!  What  a  gulf  of  separa- 
tion is  opened  in  those  words!  He  stands  by  him- 
self saying,  "Who  layeth  anything  to  my  charge?  " 
It  should  indeed  be  our  constant  endeavor  to  follow 
him;  but,  however  we  may  follow,  we  shall  never, 
until  death  breaks  the  last  fetter  of  sin,  catch  up 
with  him. 

I  know  there  are  people  who  claim  to  be  perfect; 
but  their  own  friends  and  neighbors  rise  up  to  wit- 
ness against  them.  And  God's  word  is  their  accuser; 
for  it  is  written,  "  If  we  say  that  we  have  no  sin,  we 
deceive  ourselves  and  the  truth  is  not  in  us." 

But  we  may  not  therefore  lose  heart  or  courage. 
The  arrow  aimed  at  the  heavens  may  not  pierce 
them;  but  it  will  surely  go  further  than  if  directed 
at  a  lower  mark.  The  students  of  art  who  in  our 
galleries  sit  before  the  masterpieces  of  Rubens  and 
Murillo  laboriously  copying  them,  are  stimulated  by 
their  very  shortcomings.  So  Paul  said,  "I  count 
not  myself  to  have  apprehended;  but  this  one  thing 
I  do,  forgetting  those  things  which  are  behind  and 
reaching  forth  unto  those  which  are  before,  I  press 
toward  the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of 
God  in  Christ  Jesus."  And  again,  "  Let  us  lay  aside 
every  weight,  and  the  sin  which  doth  so  easily  beset 
us,  and  let  us  run  with  patience  the  race  that  is  set 
before  us,  looking  unto  Jesus   the  Author  and   Fin- 


'294  "^HE   INIMITABLE    CHRIST. 

isher  of  our  faith,  who  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before 
him,  endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame  and  is 
set  down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne  of  God." 

All  true  character  is  righteousness;  and  all  right- 
eousness is  light;  and  the  one  central  source  of 
light  is  the  sun.  Our  Lord  is  the  Sun  of  Righteous- 
ness ;  as  he  said,  "  I  am  the  light  of  the  world. "  But 
he  also  said,  concerning  us,  "Ye  are  the  light  of  the 
world";  that  is,  we  are  planetary  souls,  borrowing 
from  him  as  we  revolve  about  him.  The  moon  says, 
"If  I  cannot  be  a  sun,  I  can  turn  my  face  toward 
the  sun  and  partake  of  its  radiance;  and  I  can  look 
downward  on  the  earth,  to  illuminate  the  paths  of 
such  as  travel  through  the  night."  And  this  marks 
our  nearest  approach  to  the  righteousness  of  Christ. 
"Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world;  let  your  light  so 
shine  that  men  may  see  your  good  works  and  glorify 

God." 

V.  Now  as  to  the  Death  of  Christ:  there  was  never 
another  like  it.  Of  all  the  martyrs  who,  in  devotion 
to  truth  and  the  welfare  of  their  fellow  men,  have 
faced  the  sword  and  blazing  fagots,  not  one  has  ever 
died  like  him.  The  distinguishing  feature  of  his 
death  was  its  vicariousness;  He  took  the  place  of 
sinners  before  the  offended  Law.  He  bared  his 
heart  to  the  shaft  that  was  intended  for  them.  "He 
was  wounded  for  our  transgressions  and  bruised  for 
our  iniquities;  and  by  his  stripes  we  are  healed." 

As  he  entered  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane  he  said 
to  his  disciples,  "  Tarry  ye  here  while  I  go  yonder." 
The  time  of  this  great  sacrifice  was  at  hand  and  the 
shadow  of  the  cross  was  over  him.  There  was  that 
to  be  done  which  he  alone  could  do;  as  it  was  writ- 


THE  INIMITABLE   CHRIST.  295 

ten  "He  hath  trodden  the  winepress  alone;  and  of 
the  people  there  was  none  with  him."     His  disciples 
paused,  therefore,  in  the  verge  of  the  deep  shadows 
while  he  "was  withdrawn  from  them  about  a  stone's 
cast."     O  what  a  stone's  cast  was  this!     What  a  dis- 
tance between  him  and   them!     The  cup  which  he 
placed  to  his  lips,  purple  with  vicarious  death,  was 
only  for  him.    We  may  indeed  die  for  others,  but  not 
as  Jesus  did.     Let  us  hearken  to  the  cry  of  David  as 
he  staggers  up  the  stairway  to  his  chamber  on  the 
housetop,,    mourning    for    his    wayward    son;     "O 
Absalom,   my  son,   my  son,  would  God  that  I  had 
died  for  thee!  "     But  dying  for  Absalom  would   not 
have  saved  him.      There  are  multitudes  of  fathers 
and  mothers  who,  for  their  prodigal  children,  would 
cheerfully  lay  down  their  lives.     But,  alas!  in   that 
sacrifice  there  would  be  no  expiatory  power.     Jesus 
alone  makes  atonement  for  sin. 

Yet  it  is  possible  for  the  followers  of  Christ  to 
enter  into  the  fellowship  of  his  suffering.  Indeed 
they  are  required  to  do  this.  We  are  to  be  "  cruci- 
fied with  Christ."  Paul  said,  "  I  die  daily  for  Jesus' 
sake."  If  we  may  not  enter  the  deepest  shadow  of 
Gethsemane  to  drink  of  the  cup  of  vicarious  pain 
which  had  been  prepared  for  this  Son  of  God,  we 
may  at  least  "  tarry  and  watch  with  him."  Sympathy 
is  possible.  We  may  sympathize  with  his  passion  for 
the  souls  of  men,  and  with  the  passion  of  men  in 
their  need  of  him.  Aye,  tarry  ye  here  and  watch! 
Can  ye  not  watch  with  him  ? 

An  old  legend  tells  of  a  ring  which,  lying  on  the 
ground,  looked  as  if  a  child  might  lift  it;  but  who- 
ever undertook  to  lift  it  found  that  it  was  not  an  isolated 


296  THE   INIMITABLE    CHRIST. 

ring,  but  a  link  of  an  endless  chain  which  girdled  the 
earth.  Such  is  the  passion  of  Christ.  It  moves  us 
to  reverent  wonder  and  profoundest  sympathy;  but, 
O,  it  is  infinitely,  divinely  beyond  us. 

Nevertheless,  here  is  the  preeminent  glory  of  our 
humanity ;  that  we  may  come  thus  far  j  that  we  may 
tarry  in  the  verge  of  the  shadows  and  watch  with 
Christ.  We  are  not  asked  10  do  more  than  is  possible. 
But  in  this  approach  to  Jesus,  in  this  sympathy  with 
his  expiatory  suffering,  we  become  laborers  together 
with  God. 

We  return  now,  in  closing,  to  the  thought  that 
Christ  is  "the  only-begotten  Son  of  God."  Only- 
begotten!  There  is  a  world  of  meaning  there.  We 
too  are  sons  of  God.  We  are  doubly  sons,  by  crea- 
tion and  by  adoption.  But  there  is  one  who  is  God's 
Son  by  eternal  generation ;  and  therein  he  is  at  an 
infinite  "stone's  cast"  from  us.  We  shall  never,  in 
all  the  aeons  of  eternity,  have  share  with  him  in  that 
divine  prerogative.  But,  in  our  filial  relation  with 
him  as  "the  first  born  among  many  brethren,"  we 
shall  come  nearer  and  nearer  forever  and  ever:  as  it 
is  written,  "Now  are  we  sons  of  God,  and  it  doth 
not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be;  but  we  know  that, 
when  he  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  him,  for  we 
shall  see  him  as  he  is." 


COMMON  SENSE  IN  RELIGION 

"  Verily.  I  say  unto  you,  Whosoever  shall  not  receive  the  Kingdom  of  God 
as  a  little  child,  he  shall  not  enter  therein."— Mark  lo,  15. 

A  good  definition  of  common  sense  is  "the  faculty 
of  first  principles."  It  is  also  defined  to  be  "plain 
wisdom,  such  as  is  the  common  heritage  of  men." 
It  would  thus  appear  that  our  Lord's  reference  of 
religious  propositions  to  the  arbitrament  of  the  simple, 
unaffected  mind  of  childhood  was  distinctly  philo- 
sophic. 

A  writer  on  "The  Child  as  a  Thinker,"  in  a 
recent  periodical,  pertinently  asks:  ^^ Are  we  doing 
an  absurd  thing  when  we  try  to  teach  our  children  to  be 
logical  ?  Are  they  not  in  many  respects  more  logical  than 
we  ?  In  other  words,  is  not  the  logical  faculty  in?iate  and 
not  acquired ?  Any  one,"  he  continues,  "  who  chooses  to 
observe  the  development  of  a  child's  mind,  will,  if  he  does 
not  suppress  its  natural  bent,  convince  himself  that  a  child 
from  three  to  five  years  of  age  possesses  thinking  powers  of 
greater  capacity  than  we  are  in  the  habit  of  crediting  to  it. 
One  of  the  external  evidences  of  a  thoughtful  mind  is  the 
asking  of  questions  which  bear  defiriite  and  logical  relations 
to  each  other  j  and  this  is  precisely  what  an  average  child  of 
that  age,  when  talking  to  a  person  in  sympathy  with  it,  is 
persistently  doing.  It  is  fiot  content  with  a  flimsy  a}ia 
evasive  answer,  and  how  strong  is  its  intellectual  craving  is 
manifested  by  its  evident  disappointment  or  display  of  tem- 
per when  its  ignorant  pare?its  impatiently  turb  its  curiosity. 
My  impression,  derived  from  observation  and  from  con- 
versation with  observant  persons,  is  that  the  average  child,  if 
not  suppressed,  is  capable  of  a  quality  of  thinking  that  leads 

(297) 


298  COMMON    SENSE    IN    RELIGION. 

its  elders^  when  they  try  to  follow,  ity  into  an  intellectual 
quagmire  of  inconsistency  and  absurdity  from  which  they 
beat  an  inglorious  retreat  by  afigrily  bidding  it  '  not  to  ask 
silly  questions.^  " 

But  the  common  sense,  or  native  practical  intelli- 
gence, which  is  ours  in  childhood,  becomes  in  the 
process  of  what  we  call  education,  a  constantly 
diminishing  factor  in  the  business  of  life.  As  we 
sharpen  our  faculties  and  furbish  them  in  the  process 
of  culture  we  lose,  more  and  more,  the  power  to 
grasp  intuitively  a  fundamental  fact.  In  our  effort 
to  acquire  the  art  of  dialectics  we  become  sophists, 
moving  further  and  further  away  from  the  simplicity 
of  faith,  by  which  alone  we  are  able  to  apprehend 
spiritual  things.  This  is  expressed  in  Wordsworth's 
**  Intimations  of  Immortality,"  as  follows: 

"  Our  birth  is  but  a  sleep  and  a  forgetting; 
The  soul  that  rises  with  us — our  life's  star — 
Hath  had  elsewhere  its  setting, 
And  Cometh  from  afar. 
Not  in  entire  forgetfulness, 
And  not  in  utter  nakedness, 
But  trailing  clouds  of  glory,  do  we  come 
From  God,  who  is  our  home; 
Heaven  lies  about  us  in  our  infancy  ! 
Shades  of  the  prison-house  begin  to  close 
Upon  the  growing  boy  ; 

But  he  beholds  the  light,  and  whence  it  flows; 
He  sees  it  in  his  joy  ! 
The  youth  who  daily  farther  from  the  East 
Must  travel,  still  is  nature  s  priest. 
And  by  the  vision  splendid 
Is  on  his  way  attended. 
At  length  the  man  perceives  it  die  away 
And  fade  into  the  light  of  common  day." 


COMMON   SENSE   IN    RELIGION.  299 

Our  text  sets  forth  clearly  the  differentiation  of 
Christianity  from  all  other  religions.  It  is  adjusted 
to  the  mind  of  the  average  man:  as  Christ  said  on 
one  occasion,  "I  thank  thee,  O  Father,  because  thou 
hast  hid  these  things  from  the  wise  and  prudent  and 
hast  revealed  them  unto  babes."  Paul  writes,  in 
like  manner,  "Where  is  the  wise?  Where  is  the 
scribe  ?  Where  is  the  disputer  of  this  world  ?  God 
hath  chosen  the  foolish  things  of  the  world  to  con- 
found the  wise;  and  the  weak  things  of  the  world  to 
confound  the  things  which  are  mighty;  that  no  flesh 
should  glory  in  his  presence." 

Over  the  doorway  of  Plato's  Academy  was  this 
inscription,  "Let  no  one  who  has  not  mastered 
geometry  presume  to  enter  here. "  Let  us  set  over 
against  that  legend  the  picture  of  Christ  with  a  child 
upon  his  knee,  saying,  "Whosoever  shall  not  receive 
the  kingdom  of  God  as  this  little  child,  he  shall  not 
enter  therein."  In  other  words  the  child,  as  repre- 
senting that  "plain  wisdom  which  is  the  heritage  of 
men,"  in  distinction  from  the  intellectual  acumen 
and  self-sufficiency  which  are  produced  in  the  pro- 
cesses of  education,  is  made  the  arbiter  in  spiritual 
things.  The  justice  of  this  proposition  v/ill  appear 
from  a  brief  survey  of  the  rudimental  facts  which 
center  in  God. 

God  himself^  the  central  truth  of  all,  is  apprehended 
by  faith ;  as  it  is  written,  "The  world  by  wisdom 
knew  not  God."  In  our  Theological  Seminaries 
there  are  certain  stock  arguments  for  the  Divine 
being,  known  as  Ontological,  Cosmological  and 
Teleological.  The  ontological  argument  affirms 
God  from  the  fact  that  the  conception  of  his  being 


300  COMMON    SENSE   IN    RELIGION. 

is  within  us;  the  cosmological  from  the  existence  of 
law  and  order  in  the  world  around  us;  the  teleo- 
logical  from  final  causes. 

Now  putting  away  all  elaborate  terminology,  let 
us  submit  these  methods  to  the  child.  We  shall  at  once 
discover  that,  while  we  are  arguing  from  the  shadowy 
conception  to  the  substance,  he  has  intuitively  appre- 
hended the  fact  itself;  so  that  until  we,  by  our  argu- 
mentation, suggested  the  question,  he  never  doubted 
God.  Or  when  we  place  a  grain  of  sand  under  the 
microscope  and  discourse  of  the  wonderful  law  of 
crystallization  as  proving  a  great  Lawgiver  and 
Executive,  he  interrupts  us  with  the  eloquent  ques- 
tion, "Who  made  it?"  Or  when  we  endeavor  to 
elaborate  the  argument  from  design,  he  anticipates 
our  conclusion  by  simple  faith;  as  did  the  Arab,  who, 
on  being  asked  as  he  sat  in  the  doorway  of  his  tent, 
how  he  knew  that  a  camel  had  passed  by  during  the 
night,  merely  pointed  to  its  footprints  in  the  sand. 
Now  this  is  common  sense;  that  is,  the  method  of 
common  sense,  or  native,  practical  intelligence.  You 
may  call  it  Faith,  if  you  prefer;  but,  in  any  case,  it 
seems  to  be  conclusive  as  to  the  existence  of  God. 

And  along  with  the  Doctrine  of  God  goes  that  of 
Immortality:  "If  a  man  die,  will  he  live  again?" 
This  question  is  being  discussed  from  many  stand- 
points, just  now.  There  are  those  who  believe  that 
we  are  on  the  verge  of  scientific  demonstration,  as 
the  result  of  psychic  experiments.  But  the  uncor- 
rupted  mind  of  the  race,  or  of  the  average  man,  does 
not  waver.  On  a  March  day  I  rowed  over  to 
"Crane  Island  "  in  Lake  Minnetonka  and  found  it 
deserted.     Pointing  to  the  empty  nests  in  the  trees, 


COMMON    SENSE    IN    RELIGION.  30I 

I  said  to  a  lad  beside  me,  "The  cranes  and  cormor- 
ants are  all  gone." — "Yes,"  he  answered,  "but 
they'll  be  coming  back  next  month."  Had  he  been 
thoroughly  trained  in  the  method  of  the  schools  he 
might  have  entered  on  an  elaborate  discussion  of  the 
migratory  habits  of  crane  and  cormorant,  or  might, 
perhaps,  have  suggested  a  doubt  as  to  whether  the 
homing  law  of  their  nature  might  not  fail  of  fulfil- 
ment in  this  particular  case.  But  in  the  simplicity 
of  common  sense  he  merely  assumed  the  normal  pro- 
cedure. Had  he  been  standing  by  the  side  of  his 
dead  mother,  he  would  doubtless  have  reasoned  in 
the  same  way.  The  thought  of  extinction  would  not 
have  occurred  to  him;  he  would  simply  have  said, 
"Mother  has  gone  away."  And  this  is  the  truth 
which  the  intuitive  wisdom  of  the  race  has  inscribed 
on  its  tombstones  from  time  immemorial;  Emigravit^ 
that  is,  "  departed  to  another  land." 

So  with  the  Doctrine  of  Sin.  The  medium  through 
which  the  conviction  of  sin  is  divinely  communicated 
to  man  is  conscience.  It  is  called  "  the  moral  sense," 
but  it  might  with  equal  pertinency  be  called  the 
common  sense.  It  speaks  in  childhood  with  an 
inerrant  voice.  We  all  remember  how  in  our  early 
years,  after  a  day  of  ill-doing,  we  lay  sleepless, 
affrighted,  drawing  the  coverlet  over  our  heads.  But,"" 
in  the  passing  years,  the  clear  sight  of  conscience 
has  been  dulled  until,  perhaps,  habituating  ourselves ., 
to  sin,  we  have  come  to  be  practically  unconscious 
of  it.  In  other  words,  conscience  has  been  "seared 
as  with  an  hot  iron."  We  may  talk  more  learnedly 
of  the  fact  of  moral  obliquity  and  its  phenomena,  but 
practically  we  know  less  about  it. 


302  COMMON    SENSE   IN   RELIGION. 

A  fid  along  with  the  vanishing  fact  of  sin  goes  its 
frightful  corollary^  Retribution.  Are  we  not  advised 
that  hell  is  no  longer  preached  or  believed  in  ?  Nev- 
ertheless, the  generic  consciousness  remains  and 
finds  expression  not  only  in  the  Scriptures,  as  in  the 
simple  mind  of  childhood,  but  in  the  universal 
legends  of  the  race.  I  remember  that  Henry  Ward 
Beecher  in  one  of  his  sermons  exclaimed,  "  The 
Liberals  tell  us  that  they  have  filled  hell  up.  O 
would  that  it  were  possible  ! "  No  scholasticism 
can  controvert  the  innate  and  universal  sense  of 
justice.  The  thought  of  retribution  can  not  perish 
from  the  earth  until  the  simple  tales  of  Ixion  on  the 
Wheel,  and  Tantalus  consumed  with  thirst,  and 
Prometheus  chained  to  the  rock  with  the  vulture 
gnawing  at  his  vitals,  and  the  Furies  pursuing  the 
ill-doer  on  wool-shod  feet,  and  other  presentations 
of  retributive  justice  set  forth  in  the  false  religions 
and  mythologies,  have  been  blotted  out.  In  this 
consensus  of  human  opinion  we  hear  the  voice  of  that 
"plain  wisdom  which  is  the  common  heritage  of 
men." 

The  voice  of  common  sense  is  heard,  also,  in  current  dis- 
cussions as  to  the  trustworthiness  of  Holy  Writ.  A  child 
in  his  simplicity  will  reason  on  this  wise  :  First,  We 
need  a  revelation  oi  truth  to  guide  us  amid  the 
dangers  and  vicissitudes  of  life  :  Second,  if  there  be 
anywhere  in  the  universe  a  God  who  regards  us  as 
his  children,  he  would  not  leave  us  to  distress  and 
perplexity  but  would  respond  to  that  need  :  Third, 
there  should  be,  therefore,  among  the  many  books 
which  lay  claim  to  divine  authority,  one  worthy  to 
be  received  as  an  infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice: 


COMMON   SENSE   IN    RELIGION.  303 

Fourth,  if  the  Bible  truthfully  meets  the  necessities 
of  the  human  soul,  it  is  worthy  to  be  received  in  that 
way.  And  the  conclusion  is  expressed  in  the  words 
of  Coleridge  who,  despite  all  his  wanderings  into 
forbidden  paths,  felt  the  beating  of  the  divine  heart 
in  the  Scriptures  and  cried,  "It  finds  me!"  This, 
I  say,  is  better  than  any  amount  of  expert  tes- 
timony. It  is  the  voice  of  the  uncorrupted  sense  of 
need  and  rightness  in  the  universal  mind  of  man. 

And  then  as  to  the  Atonement.     O   what  labyrinths 
of  argumentation  have  been  constructed  about  this 
simple  truth;     '*  Is  it  to  be  supposed  that  God  would 
lay  the  scourge  upon  his  only  begotten  Son  ? "     And, 
"Can    the    innocent  suffer  for  the  guilty?"     And, 
"Is   there    any   expiatory    value    in    suffering   and 
death?"     Ask   the   child    again;    for,     indeed,     the 
whole  argument  is  solved   by  the   intuition  of  love. 
Will  a  mother  suffer  for  her  child  ?     Will   she  sym- 
pathize with  the  child  of  her  bosom  in  its  pain  ?     And 
what  is  the  vicarious  pain  of  Jesus  but  the  sympathy 
of  God — who  is  both  father  and  mother  of  the  race — 
with  his  prodigal  children  ?     Ask  the  child  to  look 
toward  Calvary:  say  to  him,   "God   so    loved   the 
world  ";  and  he  will  answer  in  his  simplicity,  "  It  is 
what  we  should  expect  of  God;  it  is  just  like  Godl" 

Tell  me  ihe  story  simply,  as  to  a  little  child, 

For  I  am  weak  and  weary,  and  helpless  and  defiled. 

Tell  me  the  story  often,  for  I  forget  so  soon  ! 

The  early  dew  of  morning  has  passed  away  at  noon. 

And  finally  as  to  the  vital  doctrine  of  Justification  by 
Faith,  which  completes  the  credal  circle  of  our 
religion.     It  is  easy  to  propound  such  questions  as, 


304  COMMON    SENSE    IN    RELIGION. 

"If  Christ  died  for  all,  then  what  need  of  believing 
in  him?"  or,  "What  saving  virtue  can  reside  in 
faith?"  Again  let  the  simplicity  of  childhood  in- 
struct us.  We  pass  into  the  moving  camp  of  Israel 
and  find  the  manna  lying  plenteous  as  hoar  frost 
around  us.  "What  is  this?"  It  is  a  child  that 
answers,  "This  is  bread  for  hungry  people;  gather 
it  up  and  eat  it. "  We  pass  on  to  Rephidim  where 
the  water  gushes  from  the  rock.  "What  is  this?" 
And  the  child  answers  again,  "  This  is  water  for  the 
thirsty  ;  dip  it  up  and  drink  it."  Now  the  faith  that 
justifies  is  simply  an  appropriation  of  the  benefits  of 
the  gospel  of  Christ,  While  we  are  arguing  about 
its  rationale,  the  wisdom  of  simplicity  has  advised 
us  that  if  we  are  to  be  saved  by  the  atonement  of 
Jesus  we  must  believe  in  him.  Manna  on  the  ground 
satisfies  no  hunger.  Christ  on  his  cross  saves  no 
soul.  It  is  Christ  received  by  faith  who  delivers  us 
from  sin.  This  is  common  sense;  and  wise  men  will 
act  upon  it. 

Let  us  get  back,  therefore,  from  the  artificial 
refinements  of  wisdom  to  the  simplicity  of  common 
sense.  If  we  will  not,  what  then?  The  Master 
speaks,  "Whosoever  shall  not  receive  the  kingdom 
of  God  as  a  little  child,  he  shall  not  enter  therein." 
Much  of  our  education  is  like  arboriculture  in  Japan. 
An  oak  tree  is  taken  from  its  place  on  the  hill  top, 
where,  buffeting  the  storms,  it  fastens  its  roots  upon 
the  everlasting  rocks  and  lifts  its  arms  triumphant  in 
the  air;  and  it  is  reduced  by  elaborate  culture  to  the 
dimensions  of  a  flower  pot.  In  like  manner  as  to 
our  attitude  toward  the  great  spiritual  facts,  we 
move  further  and   further,  by  a  process  of  mental 


''^  COMMON   SENSE   IN    RELIGION.  305 

dwarfing,  from  the  clear  and  simple  light  which  is 
our  natural  heritage,  into  a  narrow  and  hidebound 
scholasticism,  which  makes  us  unconsciously  averse 
to  truth.  It  was  thus  with  Nicodemus,  to  whom 
Christ  presented  facts  which  should  have  commended 
themselves  to  him  at  once:  but  he  was  a  rabbi 
educated  in  the  hair-splitting  schools  of  philosophy, 
and  he  must  needs  cry,  "  How  can  these  things  be?" 
It  has  pleased  God,  for  the  relief  of  such  as  have 
wandered,  to  grant  the  influence  of  his  Holy  Spirit, 
of  whom  it  is  written,  "  He  will  lead  you  into  all 
truth."  If  we  yield  to  his  influence,  we  shall  find' 
ourselves  returning  to  the  light.  Not  even  common 
sense,  that  is  to  say,  the  universal  instinct  of  the 
race  with  reference  to  spiritual  things,  is  adequate 
for  perfect  guidance  to  those  who  by  habitual  wrong- 
thinking  have  been  diverted  from  the  simple  paths 
of  truth.  But  common  sense  plus  the  illumina- 
tion of  the  divine  Spirit  affords  all  necessary 
help:  "The  light  which  lighteth  every  man  which 
cometh  into  the  world  "  is  as  a  lantern  in  our  hands; 
we  may  pursue  our  way  along  the  dangerous  ways 
of  life,  discussing  the  qualities  of  caloric  and  the 
actinic  rays,  and  stumble  over  into  spiritual  death. 
But  if  we  are  willing  to  walk  in  the  guidance  of  that 
divinely  given  light,  we  shall  find  it  shining  ever  on 
our  path  and  growing  brighter  and  brighter  unto 
the  perfect  day. 


THIS  IS  THE  VICTORY. 

"  Whosoever  believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  is  born  of  God  :  and  every 
one  that  loveth  him  that  begat,  loveth  him  also  that  is  begotten  of  him.  By 
this  we  know  that  we  love  the  children  of  God,  when  we  love  God,  and  keep 
his  commandments.  For  this  is  the  love  of  God,  that  we  keep  his  command- 
ments :  and  his  commandments  are  not  grievous.  For  whatsoever  is  born  of 
God  overcometh  the  world  :  and  this  is  the  victory  that  overcometh  the  worlds 
even  our  faith" — I.  John  s,  1-4. 

A  well  known  picture  of  Napoleon  represents  him 
standing  with  General  Bertrand  on  the  high  shore  of 
St.  Helena,  gazing  off  with  melancholy  eyes  toward 
France.  He  had  planned  to  conquer  the  world,  and 
his  great  ambition  had  fallen  like  a  house  of  cards. 
"Alone  and  chained  upon  this  rock,"  said  he  to 
Bertrand,  "  I  have  none  to  fight  or  conquer  for  me. 
Who  are  my  courtiers  in  misfortune?  My  life  once 
shone  with  all  the  brilliance  of  a  diadem,  but  disaster 
came  and  the  fine  gold  is  dimmed.  Such  is  my 
melancholy  fate;  the  name  of  a  conqueror  is  become 
a  theme  for  schoolboys." 

A  like  picture,  relieved  of  its  most  melancholy 
features,  is  that  of  John  the  Evangelist  on  his  lonely 
island.  An  imprisoned  Son  of  Thunder,  pastor 
emeritus  of  the  Ephesian  church,  a  worn  out  veteran 
yet  eager  for  the  fray,  he  climbs  the  heights  of  Pat- 
mos  and  gazes  eastward.  He  knows  that  his  people, 
a  feeble   folk  like  the  conies,   keeping  the  faith  far 

I306) 


*  THIS   IS    THE    VICTORY.  307 

yonder  in  the  shadow  of  Diana's  Temple,  are  suffering 
for  the  truth's  sake,  and,  alas!  he  has  neither  part  nor 
lot  with  them.  Not  more  fiercely  beats  the  sea 
against  its  rocky  shores,  nor  more  vainly,  than  his 
old  heart  against  the  fate  that  holds  him  thus 
"cabined,  cribb'd,  confined."  He  sees  the  worship- 
ers of  great  Diana  entering  their  magnificent  temple 
with  pomp  and  circumstance,  and  knows  how  sorely 
tempted  are  those  few  and  feeble  Christians  to  win 
safety  and  curry  favor  by  falling  in  with  the  multi- 
tude; and  over  the  ./Egean  he  sends  his  admonition, 
"Little  children,  keep  yourselves  from  idols!  "  He 
hears  the  confused  sounds  of  controversy  as  they  meet 
their  pagan  adversaries  and  false  teachers  who  strive 
to  seduce  them  from  the  simplicity  of  their  faith  ;  and 
over  the  sea  he  sends  his  counsel,  "Try  the  spirits 
whether  they  are  of  God !  For  many  deceivers  are  en- 
tered into  the  world,  who  confess  not  that  Jesus  Christ  is 
come  in  the  flesh ;  this  is  a  deceiver  and  an  antichrist. 
Look  to  yourselves,  that  ye  lose  not  your  reward!  " 
To  this  solicitous  pastor  the  angry  roar  of  the  billows 
suggests  the  beasts  of  Ephesus  ;  and  in  the  fierce 
lightning  he  sees  the  sword  unsheathed  against  his 
unshepherded  flock:  and  his  voice  rings  loud  and 
clear,  "  Be  true  to  your  faith!  Be  loyal  to  your  con- 
victions! This  is  the  victory  that  overcometh  the 
world,  even  our  faith!  " 

The  ministers  of  New  York  are  praying  for  a 
revival.  In  "retreats"  and  conferences  they  are 
pleading  for  an  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  We 
do,  indeed,  need  a  revival;  but  not  one  that  shall 
express  itself  in  emotion  and  excitement  or  expend 
itself  in  hosannas  and  hallelujahs.  We  need  above  all 


308  THIS  IS   THE   VICTORY. 

things  a  revival  of  faith ;  a  revival  of  loyalty  to  God's 
holy  Word ;  a  revival  of  calm  confidence  in  the  great 
verities  of  the  Gospel.  When  faith  is  eclipsed  the 
dry  and  thirsty  land  gapes  in  vain  for  the  early  and  the 
latter  rains.  "  All  things  are  possible  to  him  that 
believeth."  O  for  a  quickening  of  desire  for  truth! 
For  this  is  the  victorj'  that  overcometh  the  world, 
even  our  faith. 

I.  The  text  suggests  a  Conflict.  It  is  the  conflict  of 
two  worlds  for  the  soul  of  a  man. 

One    of   these   is   the  world  here  and  now.       In 

scripture  parlance  it  stands  for  all   those  influences 

which    oppose    our   higher   hopes    and    aspirations; 

making    us    sordid,  selfish,   narrow-minded  denizens 

of  time  and  lovers  of  Vanity  Fair.     This  is  the  world 

of   which  Carlyle   said,  "Understand   it,    despise  it, 

loathe  it;  but  cheerfully  hold  on  thy  way  through   it 

with  thine  eye  on  the  highest  loadstars."    This  is  the 

world    of   which    Horace   Walpole    wrote,    "It   is  a 

comedy  to  those  who  think,  a  tragedy  to   those  who 

feel."  This  is  the  world  of  which  Wordsworth  wrote: 

"  The  world  is  too  much  with  us;  late  and  soon, 
Getting  and  spending,  we  lay  waste  our  powers." 

And  this  is  the  world  of  which  Jesus  said,  in  his  sacer- 
dotal prayer  for  his  disciples,  "  The  world  hath  hated 
them  because  they  are  not  of  the  world,  even  as  I  am 
not  of  the  world.  I  pray  not  that  thou  shouldest  take 
them  out  of  the  world,  but  that  thou  shouldest  keep 
them  from  the  evil." 

It  lies  so  close  against  us,  that  we  may  ever  hear 
the  pulsing  of  its  great,- sordid  heart.  Its  music  and 
dancing,  the  noises  of  its  marketplace,  the  shout- 
ing  of  those  who  strive  for  its  mastery,   shut  out 


rf  THIS   IS    THE    VICTORY.  309 

visions  of  glory,  the  music  of  the  spheres  and  the 
hosannas  of  the  sons  of  God.  It  strives  ever  to 
charm,  to  enthrall,  to  win  us.  Our  constant  tempta- 
tion is  to  fall  in  with  its  devotees,  who,  "forever 
hastening  to  the  grave,  stoop  downward  as  they 
run." 

The  other  world  is  that  which  lies  beyond,  and 
which  endureth  forever  and  ever.  For  that  we  were 
destined  in  the  ordinance  of  nature,  being  created  in 
the  likeness  and  after  the  image  of  God.  The  world 
here  and  now  is  nothing;  that  beyond  is  everything. 
Here  is  the  ratio:  time  is  to  eternity,  as  a  drop  of 
water  is  to  the  unfathomable  deeps.  The  world  here 
and  now  is  to  the  world  beyond  as  a  mote  flying  in  a 
sunbeam  is  to  the  sum  total  of  the  material  worlds  of 
the  universe. 

Out  of  this  conflict  comes  the  problem,  "What 
shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world  and 
lose  his  eternal  life?  "  My  soul  is  the  gage  of  battle; 
for  it  the  two  worlds  contend.      Which  shall  have  it? 

My  soul,  be  on  thy  guard; 

Ten  thousand  foes  arise. 
And  hosts  of  sin  are  pressing  hard, 

To  draw  thee  from  the  skies  I 

There  is  no  discharge  in  this  war.  "We  wrestle  not 
against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against  principalities, 
against  powers,  against  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of 
this  world,  against  spiritual  wickedness  in  high 
places.  Wherefore  take  unto  you  the  whole  armor 
of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  withstand  in  the  evil 
day,  and,  having  done  all,  to  stand.  Stand,  there- 
fore, having  your  loins  girt  about  with  truth,  and 
having  on  the  breastplate  of  righteousness;  and  your 


3IO  THIS   IS   THE   VICTORY. 

feet  shod  with  the  preparation  of  the  gospel  of  peace ; 
above  all,  taking  the  shield  of  faith,  wherewith  ye 
shall  be  able  to  quench  all  the  fiery  darts  of  the 
wicked."  For  this  is  the  victory  which  overcometh 
the  world,  even  our  faith. 

II.  The  faith  here  referred  to  as  the  deter?nimng 
factor  in  the  souVs  conflict,  is  of  a  very  definite  sort.  The 
Apostle  explains  what  he  means  by  it:  "  For  what- 
soever is  born  of  God  overcometh  the  world;  and 
who  is  this  that  overcometh  the  world,  but  he  that 
believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God  ?" 

It  is,  at  the  outset,  to  believe  in  God.  Not  in 
Law,  Energy  or  a  "Something  not  ourselves  that 
maketh  for  righteousness;"  but  in  One  who  sitteth 
upon  a  throne,  high  and  lifted  up,  heaven  for  his 
throne  and  earth  for  his  footstool,  ruling  over  the 
destinies  of  nations  and  the  children  of  men.  It  is 
to  believe  in  a  personal,  immanent  God,  who  at  every 
moment  is  nearer  than  touching  or  seeing,  who 
knoweth  the  secret  imaginations  of  the  heart. 

We  say  in  the  historic  Creed  of  the  centuries,  "  I 
believe  in  God  the  Father  Almighty."  But,  if  the 
tremendous  import  of  that  manifesto  were  to  get 
vital  hold  on  our  hearts  and  consciences,  what  man- 
ner of  men  and  women  we  should  be!  How  all  mean 
ambitions  would  dwindle!  How  insignificant  would 
seem  the  passing  show! 

Here  is  the  solace  of  life  and  the  strength  of  char- 
acter: "I  will  look  unto  the  hills,  from  whence 
Cometh  my  help."  This  was  Luther's  rock  of  refuge 
in  the  dark  days  of  the  Reformation:  "Come, 
Philip,"  said  he  to  his  friend  Melancthon,  "let  us 
sing  the  Forty-sixth  Psalm :  *  God  is  our  refuge  and 


THIS   IS   THE   VICTORY.  311 

Strength,  a  very  present  help  in  trouble.  Therefore 
will  not  we  fear,  though  the  earth  be  removed,  and 
though  the  mountains  be  carried  into  the  midst  of 
the  sea. '  " 

But  the  faith  here  indicated  goes  further;  it  takes 
hold  on  God  as  manifest  in  Jesus  Christ — the  Christ 
who  came  from  heaven  to  earth  for  us  men  and  our 
salvation;  who  took  upon  himself  the  nature,  not  of 
angels,  but  of  men,  being  made  in  all  points  as  we 
are,  only  without  sin,  that  he  might  be  "an  High 
priest  able  to  be  touched  with  the  feeling  of  our 
infirmities";  who  climbed  the  rugged  slopes  of 
Calvary,  bearing  the  burden  of  the  world's  sin  until, 
in  the  deep  darkness,  his  heart  broke  under  it;  who 
ascended  into  heaven  to  reassume  "the  glory  which 
he  had  with  the  Father  before  the  world  was,"  and 
there  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  us;  who  in 
his  last  farewell  gave  to  his  disciples  and  to  us  an 
exceeding  great  and  precious  promise,  "  Lo,  I  am 
with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world." 

He  who  by  faith  has  thus  apprehended  God,  is 
delivered  from  all  fear  of  defeat  in  life's  conflict.  * '  This 
is  the  victory. "  He  has  ever  with  him  an  omnipotent 
Helper,  whose  white  plume,  like  that  of  Henry  of 
Navarre,  "waves  ever  where  the  battle  is  fiercest." 

It  is  thus  that  a  man  gains  self-confidence;  saying 
"Of  mine  own  self  I  can  do  nothing;  but  I  can  do 
all  things  through  Christ  which  strengtheneth  me!  " 
He  confronts  the  world  with  the  cry  of  the  Round- 
heads, "God  with  us!"  He  lifts  his  voice  in  the 
challenge  of  the  great  Apostle,  "If  God  be  for  us, 
who  can  be  against  us  ?  Who  shall  lay  anything  to 
the  charge  of  God's  elect  ?     It  is  God  that  justifieth. 


312 


THIS   IS   THE   VICTORY. 


Who  is  he  that  condemneth?  It  is  Christ  that  died, 
yea,  rather,  that  is  risen  again  and  ever  maketh 
intercession  for  us."  This  is  the  victory  that  over- 
cometh  the  world. 

III.  The  victory  here  noted  is  over  all  the  influences 
that  oppose  oiir  progress  heavenward.  The  four  salient 
points  of  conflict  are  Sin,  Unbelief,  Circumstance 
and  Death ;  and  faith  is  the  victory  that  overcomes 
them  all. 

It  is  customary  in  our  time  to  minimize  Sin ;  as  a 
misdemeanor  to  be  adequately  punished  with  a  ten 
days'  sentence.  In  some  quarters  there  is  a  disposi- 
tion to  eliminate  hell  from  the  divine  economy,  as  if 
it  were  an  excessive  penalty;  and  to  substitute  for 
the  divine  justice  a  readiness  to  confer  universal 
amnesty,  even  on  the  most  obdurate  rebels  against 
the  divine  administration.  This  is  due  to  an  entire 
misapprehension  of  the  character  of  God.  The  age 
needs  a  new  vision  of  the  High  and  Holy  One.  O 
that  the  heavens  were  opened  that  we  might  behold 
him,  seated  upon  his  throne,  angels  and  archangels 
veiling  their  faces  before  him  and  crying,  "Holy! 
holy!  holy!"  The  stars  themselves  are  not  clean 
before  him.  He  hates  sin,  loathes  it,  abhors  it,  can- 
not look  upon  it  with  any  degree  of  allowance,  can 
by  no  means  overlook  it.  He  who  thus  beholds  God, 
must  regard  sin  as  he  regards  it,  must  hate  and  abhor 
and  renounce  it.  He  must,  of  necessity,  when 
tempted,  brace  himself  against  his  faith  and  cry, 
with  the  white  solar  ray  of  holiness  shining  in  his 
eyes,  "No!  Am  I  a  dog  that  I  should  do  this  thing, 
and  offend  against  God?  " 

And  by  the  power  of  faith,  a  living  faith  in  God 


THIS  IS   THE   VICTORY.  313 

as  he  hath  made  himself  manifest  in  Christ,  we  over- 
come Unbelief,  also.  We  are  living  in  an  age  of 
denial.  All  the  great  fundamental  facts  of  the 
Christian  religion  are  here  and  there  contradicted, 
openly  and  without  compunction.  Time  was  when 
such  assaults  were  from  without,  but  the  sorrow  of 
the  situation  to-da)''  is  that  the  enemy  is  within  the 
gates!  Thus  it  was  prophesied,  "Deceivers  shall 
come  among  you  in  the  last  days."  We  are  asked 
to  accept  only  such  facts  as  can  be  established  by 
scientific  proof.  "Science"  is  the  shibboleth  of  our 
time:  and  God  forbid  that  aught  be  spoken  against 
the  legitimate  results  of  scientific  investigation.  But 
science  has  to  do  with  such  facts  as  lie  within  the 
province  of  the  physical  senses.  It  pauses  at  the 
circumscription  of  the  finger  tips  and  says,  "  Beyond 
this,  I  know  not  !  " 

What,  then,  of  the  great,  illimitable  world  of 
truth  which  lies  beyond  ?  For  "  the  things  which  are 
seen  are  temporal,  but  the  things  which  are  not  seen 
are  eternal  ? "  God,  immortality,  inspiration,  the 
incarnation  and  the  atonement  are  scientifically  un- 
demonstrable.  Shall  we  be  wise  everywhere  else 
and  agnostics  here  ?  Shall  we  be  content  to  live  in 
the  low  valley  of  the  five  physical  senses,  with  no 
desire  to  scale  the  mountains  and  look  into  the  world 
beyond  ?  Nay  ;  there  is  a  sixth  sense  by  which  a 
man,  made  in  God's  likeness,  takes  hold  on  invisible 
and  eternal  things,  and,  as  Kepler  said,  "thinks 
God's  thoughts  after  him."  He  who  refuses  to  exer- 
cise this  sixth  sense  is  unworthy  of  his  divine  birth 
and  destiny.  It  is  no  more  reasonable  to  insist  on 
apprehending  spiritual  truth  by  the  physical  senses 


314  THIS   IS    THE   VICTORY. 

than  it  would  be  to  Insist  upon  hearing  with  the  eyes 
or  seeing  with  the  ears.  "  Faith  is  the  substance  of 
things  hoped  for,  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen." 
The  man  who  refuses  to  believe  beyond  what  he  can 
see  with  fleshly  eyes  and  touch  with  his  fingers,  must 
not  be  surprised  if  the  great  verities  slip  from  him. 
He  must  give  up  Christ  himself,  "whom  not  having 
seen  we  love,  and  in  whom,  though  now  we  see  him 
not,  yet  believing,  we  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable 
and  full  of  glory."  The  philosophy  of  the  world  is 
agnostic  ;  but  this  is  the  victory  that  overcometh  the 
world,  even  our  faith.  It  enables  us  to  see  things 
which  are  otherwise  invisible  ;  and  brings  life  and 
immortality  to  light. 

And  by  faith  in  the  God  who  has  revealed  himself 
in  Christ,  we  rise  superior  to  the  outward  Circum- 
stances of  life.  It  is  sometimes  said  that  man  is  a 
creature  of  circumstance.  This  is  true  only  when  he 
will  have  it  so.  The  mark  of  real  greatness  is  to  rise 
above  circumstance  and  prove  one's  self  superior  to 
environment.  The  ideal  man  comes  always  out  of 
Nazareth,  by  heroic  conquest  of  the  world  around 
him. 

How  shall  we  meet  adversity  ?  With  stoic  indif- 
ference, like  the  Indian  bound  to  the  stake,  clenching 
his  teeth  and  saying,  "What  can't  be  cured  must  be 
endured  "  ?  Or  by  the  passive  submission  of  the 
minimum  Christian,  whose  sole  comfort  is  to  mur- 
mur: "  It  is  the  Lord ;  let  him  do  whatsoever  he  will "  ? 
Behold,  I  show  unto  you  a  better  way  :  "  If  I  must 
needs  glory,  I  will  glory  in  tribulation  !  For  when  I 
am  weak  then  am  I  strong,  since  the  power  of  Christ 
resteth  upon  me."     Here  is  the  conquest  of  faith  : 


'  THIS   IS   THE   VICTORY.  315 

God  knoweth  what  is  best  ;  and  maketh  all  things 
work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love  him. 

But  hard  as  it  is  to  meet  adversity,  to  meet  pros- 
perity is  harder.  O  poor  sybarites  !  O  poor  prin- 
cipalities and  powers  !  O  wretched  denizens  of  this 
world,  blind  to  visions  of  life  and  immortality  !  O 
rich  fool  !  He  sat  in  his  counting-house  saying, 
"What  shall  I  do  ?  My  harvests  are  so  great  that  I 
have  nowhere  to  store  them.  This  will  I  do  ;  I  will 
tear  down  my  barns  and  build  greater  ;  and  I  will 
say  to  my  soul,  '  Soul,  thou  hast  much  goods  laid  up 
for  many  days  ;  take  thine  ease,  eat,  drink  and  be 
merry  ! '  "  Then  spake  the  voice  of  One  of  whom  he 
had  taken  no  note ;  ' '  Thou  fool !  This  night  thy  soul 
shall  be  required  of  thee;  then  whose  shall  those 
things  be  ? "  Alas  for  the  man  who,  in  his  pros- 
perity, leaves  God  out  of  the  reckoning  !  Here  is 
the  problem  :  How  to  be  rich,  yet  righteous  ?  and 
faith  alone  can  solve  it.  To  believe  in  God,  and  in 
ourselves  as  God's  stewards  ;  this  is  to  make  friends 
of  the  mammon  of  unrighteousness,  to  get  the  better 
of  the  world's  blandishments,  and  to  win  an  inheri- 
tance in  the  endless  hereafter.  A  man  is  safe,  rich 
or  poor,  in  sickness  or  in  health,  caressed  or  buffeted, 
only  when  he  believes  in  God. 

And  the  last  enemy  which  shall  be  destroyed  is 
Death.  How  many  a  Christian  have  I  seen  pass 
through  the  Valley  of  the  Shadow,  leaning  on  faith 
as  on  a  strong  staff  !  How  many  of  the  noble  army 
of  martyrs  have  met  their  doom  in  the  arena,  or  gone 
up  from  blazing  fagots  in  chariots  of  flame  singing, 
"Glory  be  to  the  Father  and  to  the  Son  and  to  the 
Holy  Ghost  ;  as  it  was  in  the  beginning,  is  now  and 


3l6  THIS   IS   THE    VICTORY.  ^ 

ever  shall  be!  "  Was  ever  a  sweeter  story  than  that 
of  the  passing  of  the  aged  John  ?  A  Voice  from 
heaven  said,  "Surely  I  come  quickly,"  and  he 
answered,  '*  Even  so  come,  Lord  Jesus  !  " 

Let  us  hear  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter  : 
Keep  the  faith !  In  the  panoply  of  a  good  soldier,  this 
is  spoken  of  as  "  the  shield  wherewith  we  shall  be  able 
to  quench  all  the  fiery  darts  of  the  adversary."  In  the 
ancient  courts  of  Greece  a  man  who  in  the  stress  of 
battle  had  lost  his  sword,  was  acquitted  ;  but  he 
who  had  cast  away  his  shield,  was  accounted  guilty 
of  cowardice.  The  highest  honor  that  a  soldier  could 
win  was  to  be  carried  out  of  the  battle,  wounded  or 
dead,  upon  the  shield  which  he  had  braced  against 
his  arm  when  he  went  forth  to  meet  the  foe.  This, 
perhaps,  was  in  the  mind  of  the  Apostle  Paul  when 
he  wrote,  "  I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished 
my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith  !  "  Keep  thy  shield, 
O  follower  of  Christ  !  Stand  for  the  truth  which 
thou  hast  professed,  for  the  great  verities  which  find 
their  center  in  God.  Be  true  to  thy  convictions  ; 
clear-eyed  toward  the  things  which  are  unseen  and 
eternal,  faithful  to  thy  Lord.  So  fight  the  good  fight 
and  keep  thy  faith,  until  thou  shalt  receive  the  crown 
of  righteousness  which  the  Lord  the  righteous  Judge 
shall  give  thee  at  that  day. 


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